Second Childhood
by Chronos the Cat
Summary: What if, in A Sitch in Time, Drakken had used the Juvenator a bit more extensively?
1. You Can't Go Home Again

"The Supreme One took power with cruel swiftness. No one knows what happened. We believe that time-travel was the key. Somehow the Supreme One tampered with your past," the hyper-evolved Naked-Mole-Rat Rufus 3000 told Kim Possible.

"Time Travel…" Kim said speculatively. "…The Time Monkey!"

"Exactly. Tempus… Simia."

"But what can I do?"

"History tells us that you were the only one to defeat the Supreme One in the Pre- Tempus Simia Era."

"But if the Supreme One has the Time Monkey in the future… or the past…. Or… wow… Ah! Brain pain!"

"Time Travel does that," Rufus 3000 agreed.

"All I know is I'm stuck in the now, and I'm fresh out of Time Monkey."

Rufus 3000 pulled out a bracelet with a large blue half-sphere on it, and slapped it on Kim's wrist. "This is a Chronal Manipulator."

Kim asked, "Big enough?"

"Beats strapin' a monkey to your wrist."

"True."

* KP * KP * KP * KP * KP * KP *

**Second Childhood**

A Kim Possible Fanfiction by Chronos the Cat

with scenes adapted from the "Kim Possible" TV Movie, "A Sitch in Time".

Based on a challenge by W. C. Reaf at the KP Slash Haven message board.

* KP * KP * KP * KP * KP * KP * KP * KP * KP * KP * KP * KP * KP * KP * KP *

Introduction:

She called herself "The Supreme One", and from her capitol city of Shegoton, she ruled the world.

All empires fall eventually, but the Supreme One felt her empire could be different. The only person who had ever bested her in battle was dead, and between her powers and the advanced science at her disposal, she had no need to fear growing older than she wished to.

The one thing she worried about was that someone would discover a secret that few other than herself knew – that it was possible to travel into the past and change history. To stop the rebels from taking advantage of this fact, she used an ancient relic, the Tempus Simia, to travel into the past and created a time-loop wherein the events of past and future reinforced themselves, making the course of events leading up to her enthronement nearly inevitable.

As she finished her project, the rebels constructed a time-travel device of their own, and detecting the changes the Supreme One was making, attempting to stop her. Instead, their excursions into the past were merely incorporated into the loop, creating a nearly-paradoxical tangle of cause-and-effect.

Fearing the effects of disturbing the damaged time-stream further, the rebels abandoned their attempt to change history, and instead focused on fighting the Supreme One.

However neither side considered that every trip to the past gives random chance and free will the opportunity to change history, and without intelligent guidance, a time-loop is a fragile structure. And so it was that in "A Sitch in Time", Kim Possible chose to accompany Rufus 3000 to the future to battle the Supreme One, eventually leading to the destruction of the time-loop.

This tale will chronicle the results of a very different change…

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**Sitch One:**

**You Can't Go Home Again**

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In Doctor Drakken's Island Lair…

"We need a plan. A smart plan." Drakken said, parroting what Shego had just said a moment ago. He was pacing around the room, while Shego leaned over the table the Tempus Simia was on, and Monkey Fist and Duff Killagain stood nearby.

Monkey Fist said, "We're listening."

Drakken grabbed a computer printout, and said, "I have run a computer analysis of Kim Possible's life, and have calculated the exact day when she will be most vulnerable."

"Sounds smart!" Shego said, sounding impressed.

Drakken continued, "We must go under-cover… using this _Juvenator!"_

Drakken pulled out a device composed of several colored rings around a white rod – much like a toddler's toy.

Shego asked, "Juvenator? What's a Juinvi—"

Drakken pushed a button on the top of the device, and with a flash of green light, transformed into a kid. His scar had vanished, but unlike his original childhood incarnation, his skin was still blue. Furthermore, his clothes had changed to black pants and a shirt with a skull design on it, made for his new size.

Mini-Drakken exclaimed, "Cool!"

Shego commented, "Okay. Just got dumb."

Drakken now turned the device on the others, turning Monkey Fist, Duff Killagain, and Shego into children as well. Fist retained his monkey hands and feet, and Shego the pale greenish tint to her skin, while the clothes of the three shrank to fit their new bodies.

Mini-Killagain commented, "I'm a wee laddie!"

Mini-Shego slapped her forehead. "Why do I put up with you, Doctor D?"

Mini-Fist demanded, "Drakken, why on Earth are we toddlers?!"

Drakken answered maniacally, "Because our target is Kim Possible's first day of preschool! Ha ha ha!"

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In a parking-lot across the street from the Middleton ABC Pre-School, sometime in the late Eighties / early Nineties… Mini-Shego sat on the hood of a car, watching the events in the pre-school through binoculars.

"Oh! How long can it take to crush the spirit of a four-year-old?!" she complained.

Just then, a blue portal appeared, and the teen Kim Possible stepped out.

"This is low, even for you, Shego!"

Shego turned and stared at her, answering in a voice meant to be reproving but ending up more fearful, "N-not my idea! Do you think I'd choose to be turned into a kid?"

"I suppose not. Why don't you surrender now? I don't like to hurt kids."

"You don't, do you? Well, that's fine with me - I love having an unfair advantage! Tell you what – I'll hurt you enough for both of us!" She lit up her hands, and launched herself off the car at Kim.

Kim easily dodged to the side, and Mini-Shego landed roughly on the ground a bit beyond where she'd planned. Shego picked herself up, turned and blasted at Kim with her glow.

Kim flipped over the blast, then lunged at Shego. Shego froze for an instant, her eyes widening as she realized just how big Kim was to her now. Recovering in time, she jumped back, and threw a few more blasts at Kim. As Kim dodged again, Shego mentally adapted the moves she wanted to use for her new body, then launched herself at Kim, punching and kicking in the air.

Kim blocked the blows as best she could with her arms. Shego seemed faster than before, and managed to get a few blows in, but they didn't hurt as much as they normally would have. Reflexively, Kim lashed out, sending Shego flying a distance of over a yard. Shego scraped and bounced against the pavement at the same time, then tumbled a ways further.

Shego moaned as she slowly lifted herself up. Her suit and face was dirt-stained, and a little blood trickled down from a scrape on her forehead.

Kim stared in shock. "Oh my…!" Having difficulty thinking of Mini-Shego as an adult, she found herself asking, "Shego, are you all right?"

Shego looked over at Kim incredulously as she put her hand to her head. Assuming a sad expression, she whined over-dramatically, "No, I'm hurt bad! Can you kiss it and make it better?"

Even if Kim hadn't recognized her mistake, the evil gleam in Shego's eye gave the game away. Kim scowled. "Right… I don't think so." Clicking back into battle mode, she charged at Shego.

Shego blasted at Kim, forcing Kim to dodge, and giving Shego time to get up. Shego sent a few more plasma blasts Kim's way, then leaped at her, her right fist extended and blazing. Kim was hit in the chest, knocking her back a few paces and knocking the wind out of her. Shego was unable to take advantage of Kim's momentary incapacitation, however, as landing from her leap proved trickier than expected.

Backing away from each other, the two assumed battle stances, each watching the other carefully, prepared to attack or defend at a moments notice.

Kim lunged at Shego again, even as Shego once again jumped at her, Shego's punches blazing with green plasma.

Kim dodged the first few strikes, then before Shego had even returned to the ground, slipped around her and grabbed her from behind.

Shego found herself held in the air in Kim's embrace, her arms pinned to her sides. "What the…?" She struggled and squirmed, and beat her fists and feet against Kim. Shego didn't have the leverage to really hurt Kim, but Kim did find herself loosing her grip.

In a single fluid movement, Kim shifted her hold on Shego, grabbed hold of her arms and twisted them behind Shego's back, even as she knelt down, wrapping one leg around Shego in the process.

Before Shego knew what had happened, she found herself even more helpless, her legs pinned between Kim's, and her arms crossed behind her back with one of Kim's hands holding them in position. With her free hand, Kim pulled out a rope, and wrapped it around Shego's wrists, letting go with her other hand only when it was time to tie the knot. Kim then pulled out another rope, shoved Shego to the ground, and tied her feet together as well.

As Kim stood up to survey her handiwork, Shego rolled over and looked up at her in awe. "And I thought **I** knew how to tie people up!"

"Actually, you don't – or have you forgotten that I always escape?"

"Only because of that hairless rodent!"

Kim shrugged. "Well, he **has** saved me and Ron more than a few times… but I've escaped without his help before, too."

Shego raised an eyebrow at that skeptically, then looked down and struggled against her bonds for a few moments. Kim knew that it was futile – while Kim would never do something like this when babysitting someone outside the family, she had used this trick to keep her brothers out of trouble many times. (It worked almost as good as the mind-control chips she'd used on them that one time, and was far more practical.) And even Shego's plasma wouldn't help – her hands were tied in such a way that her hands couldn't even touch the rope, let alone the knot.

Wondering what to do with Shego now, Kim glanced around. What she saw in the playground banished all thoughts of Shego from her mind, though – her four-year-old self was fighting against Mini-Drakken, Mini-Monkey Fist, and Mini-Killagain to protect the four-year-old Ron!

Teen-Kim ran towards the playground to help out. However, by time she neared the fence, young-Kim had sent the bad boys running.

The villains burst out of the gate and began to run towards where they'd left Shego, only to stop in their tracks when they saw teen-Kim standing there.

Mini-Drakken stared, wide eyed, and started to back up. "Kim Possible! B-big Kim Possible!"

With a smile, teen-Kim said to the villains, "Guess what? Free-swim in the time-stream is over."

Drakken turned to Monkey Fist and said in a terrified voice, "Get us out of here!"

Monkey Fist pulled out the Tempus Simia, and a red vortex opened up just behind him, Drakken, and Killagain.

"Drop it!" Kim ordered, even as she ran at them.

Not listening to her, the three jumped through the portal, which a second later began to close.

Without a thought, Kim leaped after them head first, her feet barely making it through the portal before it closed.

Moments later (or years, depending on your point of view), Kim landed on her stomach on the floor of Drakken's lair. As she got up, Mini-Fist told Mini-Drakken, "Quickly! De-juvenate me!"

"Aye, me too!" Killagain said.

Drakken pulled out the Juvenator, and with the push of a button and a flash of light, the three villains were back to their adult forms.

Kim took up a fighting stance, even as Monkey Fist did the same, and Killagain pulled out one of his golf-clubs.

Kim told them, "Give it up, guys. We all know how this is going to end."

Drakken smiled. "We do, don't we? Or have you forgotten that without your sidekick, you have yet to be able to beat the three of us when we're working together?"

"That's not what I just saw on the playground."

"Ya canna count that!" Killagain complained.

"Indeed," Monkey Fist agreed. "Our fighting skills were impaired by the fact that we were unfamiliar with our juvenated bodies."

Drakken's eyes widened. "Ooh! But this time –" He aimed the Juvenator at Kim, and pressed the button. Kim's attention had been on Monkey Fist and Killagain, and she only realized what Drakken was up to at the last second. She tried to dodge the green light that shot out of the Juvenator, but wasn't fast enough. "—you'll be the one in an unfamiliar body!"

Kim felt a slight burning sensation throughout her body, as well as the feeling of falling, as everything and everyone else in the room seemed to almost triple in size. She felt dizzy for a moment, then everything returned to normal – except the sizes of things. She glanced down at her body to see the proportions of a toddler and a distinctive lack of a bust. Her mission-clothes had shrunk with her, but the shirt was now longer compared to her body than it had been, covering her mid-riff.

"Oh boy," Kim said in a troubled voice.

The three villains grinned, and Killagain said, "Now this is the kin' of fight I like."

Not knowing how she was going to handle this, Kim started to back away, keeping up her battle stance.

Monkey Fist leaped at her, and kicked. She jumped back out of the way, but misjudged her landing slightly, stumbling a few steps in an attempt to avoid falling down. Monkey Fist landed in a crouch and leaped forward, low to the ground, his fist extended her way. She crossed her arms in front of her face in a desperate block. The impact still pushed her back a few feet and knocked her down.

As Kim pulled herself to her feet as quickly as she could manage, she briefly wondered why Fist hadn't pursued his advantage further – until she spotted a golf ball roll to rest next to her. She leaped away, but it wasn't fast enough, and she got caught in the edge of the explosion. Painful heat engulfed her body as she was flung through the air into some equipment. She tried to protect her head, but hit a console too hard, causing her to black out for a moment.

She knew she hadn't been out long because as the world came back into focus Monkey Fist was just tying her up in a similar manner to how she had tied Shego.

"This won't hold me for long!" Kim said as Monkey Fist walked over to Drakken and Killagain.

"It doesn't need to, my dear. By time you're free, we'll be long gone – in more ways than one!" He gave a monkey laugh.

Drakken held out his hand. "The Tempus Simia, if you will?"

Killagain asked, "Why d' you get to be th' one t' use it?"

"Because, I have the plan!" Drakken said, as Monkey Fist handed the Time Monkey to him. Drakken concentrated a moment, and a red portal opened up. The three walked through it, and it closed behind them.

Kim scowled and grit her teeth. "They got away!" She struggled against her bonds trying to get free. As she did, she began to be aware of her muscles aching, as well as the fact that spots on her skin still hurt as if burned, presumably from where burning pieces of golf-ball had struck her.

Realizing that Monkey Fist had tied too good a knot, she turned to plan "B", pulling out her "lipstick-laser" and using it to cut her bonds.

Slowly, she got to her feet, noticing new aches and pains as she did so, including a pounding in her head.

"_I think I need to rest up before confronting them again. It might be worth recruiting Ron, too, even if we are out of sync… But first I need to get back to my proper age. "_ Suddenly, her eyes widened. _"Oh no! Drakken took his de-aging device with him!"_

She looked down at herself, at her child-body, now covered in soot, burns, and bruises. With a sigh, she thought, _"Unless Wade or Rufus 3000 can help me, I guess I'm stuck like this until I go after Drakken and the others."_

Suddenly, she realized that she'd left Shego tied up in the past. _"Well, at least there's one loose end I can take care of right now."_ She raised her wrist to activate the Chronal Manipulator, but gasped when she saw it. Not only was it battered and soot-stained, but there was a large crack running across it. Desperately, she tapped at it, trying to get it to turn on, but nothing happened.

Sourly, she thought, _"I guess I'll need to wait for Rufus 3000 to get back before I can get Shego and go after Drakken, Monkey Fist, and Killagain."_

She reached into her mini-cargo pants and pulled out her Kimmunicator. It had shrunk with her, and now had a "Hello Kitty" sticker on it. She flipped it on. "Hey, Wade, I need a ride."

"Sure thing, …Kim?!"

"I got struck by a device of Drakken's and got turned into a kid," she explained to the shocked cyber-guru. "Any chance you can reverse the affect?"

"Do you have the device he used?"

"No, he got away, and took it with him."

"Hmm. I'll have to study the effect." The Kimmunicator scanned her, then Wade started typing away as he divided his attention between several screens.

Looking up in surprise, he asked, "According to the beacon in your Kimmunicator, you're at Drakken's island lair!"

"Yeah," Kim said, looking around. "That's what I figured."

"Well, since you're there, why don't you hook the Kimmunicator into his computer system – maybe he left some notes behind."

"Can't you just hack in there?"

"His computer isn't online."

"Oh." Kim went over to a computer console, and hooked the Kimmunicator up.

"So," Wade said as he typed, "How'd you end up in Drakken's lair?"

"I hitched a ride with Drakken when he, Monkey Fist, and Duff Killagain fled the past using the Tempus Simia."

Wade's eyes widened. "When they fled the…? But Kim, you, Ron, and Shego stopped them from getting the Tempus Simia! And what were you doing in the past?"

Kim stared at the Kimmunicator screen. "Shego…?!"

"Yeah, what about her?"

"Why would she help us?!"

"Why wouldn't she? She is part of Team Possible, after all."

Kim shook her head silently. Trying to regain the ability to speak, she stuttered, "Wha- bu- I- …Since when?"

"Since the very beginning. Kim, are you all right? Did you hit your head or something?"

"Well, yes, but that's not it…" Kim protested. Growing thoughtful, she said, "They changed history, like Rufus 3000 warned us they would! I need to go back and stop them! Wade, can you repair this Chronal Manipulator?" She held up the device to the Kimmunicator.

"One thing at a time, Kim! Let me finish going through Drakken's database."

"I thought you liked to multitask?"

Wade scowled. "Some things require more concentration than others, and even I only have so much to spread around."

After a moment, he continued, "So, anyway, what were you doing in the past?"

Kim looked confused. "Trying to stop Drakken and his friends from changing history, like Rufus 3000 told me to."

"Rufus 3000? Who's that?"

"Genetically enhanced descendant of Rufus from the future? You talked with him over the Kimmunicator just a few hours ago, remember?"

"Sorry, doesn't ring a bell."

"But…" Kim puzzled over this, until it occurred to her she might not be when she assumed she was. "Wait, what's the date?"

Wade rattled off the date, and Kim grew confused again.

"That can't be right. What's the time?"

"Twelve fifteen, Middleton time."

"But… Rufus 3000 should have talked with us just a few hours ago!"

"No… And I just checked – I'm also getting your Kimmunicator's signal from your bedroom. Just to be safe, I checked that scan I ran on you earlier too, and your genetics match my records precisely."

"What are you saying?"

"Assuming you aren't some highly sophisticated clone, there are two of you now. The you who traveled back in time and got turned into a kid, and the you who did not travel through time and is asleep in bed."

"How is that possible?"

Wade shrugged. "Hey, anything's possible for a Possible, right?"

Kim scowled. "Wade…"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Wade said apologetically. "Seriously, though… I'm no expert in temporal physics, but my best guess would be that the change in history changed the future so that Rufus 3000 either couldn't or saw no need to travel back in time and recruit you. Without Rufus 3000, the you in this time-line never went back in time, so now that you've returned from your trip to the past, well…"

"There are two of me. …But, if I didn't travel into the past in the new time-line, why do I still exist? The time-traveling me, I mean."

"Why not? You're assuming that causality is both dual-directional and restricted to the linear time-line."

"I'm what?"

"Look, when time flows the way it's supposed to, one event leads to another which leads to another, and so-on. Cause-and-effect. Some people believe that this chain must remain intact - all events must have a history leading up to it. If that's the case, then anyone visiting the past would be unable to change history, as that would disrupt the chain of events leading to their trip through time. …Unless, of course, changing history does not erase the old history, but merely pushes it aside. In that case, the chain-of-events would still be intact, it would just lead to the old history.

"Of course, it's also possible that events don't need a history to exist, in which case you can change history as much as you want, so long as you're willing to live in the new course of history you create," Wade concluded.

Kim digested this for a moment, then finally said, "So, what you're saying is there's two of me now."

"Er… In a nutshell, yeah. …Oh, and by the way, it looks like this time-line's Drakken never developed that de-aging device the time-traveling Drakken used on you... I've found some preliminary research for a 'Juvenator', but he apparently abandoned the concept before he ever got anywhere with the idea."

"Oh, that's just great!" Kim exclaimed. "What about you? Can you reverse the effect?"

"I don't know. Even with my scan of you, and Drakken's preliminary work, I don't have a lot to go on. I'll work on it, but you might have to just wait for the de-aging to wear off…"

"It will wear off?" Kim asked filled with sudden hope.

"Er, not like you're thinking. I just meant that your body isn't stuck at your current age – in a year you'll have a five-year-old's body, in another you'll have a six-year-old's body, and ten years from now, you'll have a fourteen-year-old body again."

"You mean, I'll need to grow up all over again?!"

"If we can't get our hands on the Juvenator, and I can't work out how to reverse the effects, then yes…"

"Great. Just great."

"Anyway, let's have a look at that Chronal Manipulator."

Kim held the device up to the Kimmunicator again.

Wade started scanning the device. "Whoa! This is way beyond anything I've ever seen before. I think I could get it working again… But it could take a really long time – years, maybe."

"…But… If Rufus 3000 isn't coming, and you can't repair the Chronal Manipulator, how can I go back and restore history? …Wait, if there's two of me, are there two Time Monkeys now?"

"Time Monkeys?"

"You know, the Tempus Simia."

"Oh, right. Sorry, Kim. Shego thought it was too dangerous to leave lying around, so you dropped the head of the statue into an oceanic rift…"

One of Kim's eyebrows twitched. _"Did Shego do that on purpose, to make it so I can't go back and stop her?"_ Kim wondered.

"Well," Wade said, "You should probably head outside – your ride should be there in a few minutes. You still planning on heading back to Middleton?"

Kim sighed. "I guess I might as well. Until I can find a way to follow Drakken and the others back in time, I'm stuck in this mixed up course of history."

"Mixed up?" Wade asked.

As Kim headed outside, she said, "Shego is part of Team Possible," as if that was enough of an explanation.

"So? What's wrong with that?"

"She's a criminal!"

"Yeah, well, so are you, technically."

Kim's eyes seemed to bulge out of her head. "Wh-a-a-at?!"

"Hey, just because you and Shego never got caught doesn't mean I couldn't figure out that you have a few clothes and other items in your room that you never actually paid for."

Her voice a mixture of shock and reproach, Kim said, "Wade, I've never stolen anything in my life!"

"You haven't? Oh… well, the Kim I know has. Don't worry though, it's nothing too serious, mostly just some shoplifting and petty theft from those who could afford it."

Kim closed her eyes, put her hand to her head, and moaned. _No doubt about it_, she thought, _Shego has been a bad influence on the other me... _

Hoping to assess the damage, she asked, "Just to be sure, Team Possible does what in this time-line?"

"Catch master criminals, recover stolen property, and generally save the world…"

"Well, at least we're still the good guys."

"We get paid pretty good for it, too."

"Paid?!" Kim moaned again. "We charge to help people out?!"

"You mean, in your time-line, you didn't?"

"No, we don't! If we waited to make sure someone would pay us, the world would never get saved. And what about people who need help but can't afford to pay for it?"

"Actually, we have a contract with Global Justice and the UN – any world saving that isn't on a separate contract, they foot the bill for. And in the case of those with limited incomes, we'll give discounts, or just accept the promise of a favor."

"Well… I guess that isn't so bad. I still don't see why it's necessary, though…" Kim said as she stepped outside.

Wade shrugged. "That's been the way it's been since I joined the team. You'll have to ask the others how they decided on doing it the way we do."

"Yeah… me and my other self are going to have to have a long talk…"

Kim sat down on a rock near the shore, and looked up at the stars, waiting for the plane to arrive to take her somewhere that wasn't quite home anymore.

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_Twelve years earlier…_

Mini-Shego tried to move her feet near enough to her hands to blast the ropes around her feet, but though her child-body was quite flexible, she wasn't coordinated enough with it to pull the trick off.

"_Darn it, Kim! Why'd you have to tie me up so good?"_ She wasn't too worried, despite the fact that she had yet to be able to get free. If it came down to it, she could engulf more of her body in plasma than just her hands, and burn off the rope – however, if she did that, she risked catching her suit and hair on fire, so it wasn't something she was anxious to try…

"_Why hasn't either Drakken or Kim come back for me?!" _ she wondered. _"They can travel through time – after one won, it should have been simple to come back to just after they left and pick me up! I know Kim wouldn't leave me in the past if she could help it – too much risk of me messing with history. Drakken wouldn't leave me behind, either… would he? I mean, he needs me, right? …But he didn't seem to care about what happened to me when he, Killagain, and Monkey Fist escaped…_

"_Have I been abandoned…? And if so, how do I get home? _

"…_I suppose I could try to get the Tempus Simia in this time period… but I don't know where the statue's body is at this point… and with a toddler's body and no resources, how would I get to Australia to get the head, or to the temple in Africa…?"_

It began to dawn on her that the only way for her to get back to what she considered the present might be to wait ten years for it to arrive… And she'd have to do it as a child, to boot!

"_Someone is going to pay dearly for this mess!" _she thought, struggling against the ropes again.

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_The Present..._

In a dimly lit room in an underground bunker somewhere outside of Middleton, a figure with yellow reptilian eyes with slitted pupils watched on several computer monitors as Mini-Kim fought Doctor Drakken, Duff Killagain and Monkey Fist. When the villains escaped into the past, the figure focused on Kim, and turned up the volume.

As Wade searched the computer for information on the Juvenator, the figure chuckled, and commented, "Wade, I'm disappointed in you. Didn't even notice you're not the only one tapped into the mad Doctor's computer system? But then, you are only human..."

When Wade told Kim he couldn't fix the Chronal Manipulator, the figure broke into a grin, revealing sharp, yellow-stained shark-like teeth. "So," the figure mused, "she can't travel through time anymore. I was wondering why the timeline stabilized the way it did...

"Well, I guess she'll just have to suffer alongside the rest of Team Possible when I get my revenge!" The figure let forth an evil laugh that would have made Senor Senior Sr. green with envy.

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Next: Meetings


	2. Best Friends Forever

A jet-plane cut across the sky away from Drakken's lair and towards Middleton.

"Thanks for the ride," Mini-Kim told the pilot.

"Thank Team Possible, they're the ones who are paying for it."

Kim opened her mouth to respond to this, but couldn't think of anything to say.

After a moment, the pilot asked, "By the way, if you don't mind my asking, what was a little girl like you doing on a secluded and supposedly haunted island?"

"It's… a long story…"

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**Sitch Two:**

**Best Friends Forever…?!**

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_The Past:_

Four-year-old Kim and Ron stood by a large tree in the preschool playground. Ron picked up the ball Kim had been playing with earlier, and handed it to her.

"Did that one kid have opposable toes?" he asked Kim.

Kim replied, "You're weird. But I like you."

"I like you too. You want to be friends?"

"Sure. I'm Kim Possible."

"I'm Ron Stoppable."

As they turned to head to another part of the playground, they noticed movement in the parking-lot. There was a pale black-haired girl in a green and black leotard tied up and struggling on the pavement.

Kim and Ron ran over to the fence.

"Are you alright?" Ron called out.

Mini-Shego turned and stared at the two of them. _"Kim? And that must be the Buffoon! Great, just great! Now what do I do?" _Hoping to get them to leave her alone, she said with only a slight trace of sarcasm, "Yeah, I'm just practicing escaping from ropes."

"Oh," Ron said, and turned to go.

Kim put her hand on his arm to stop him. "Ron, I think she's making that up. If she was really practicing like she said, why do it in the parking lot? Anyway, even if she is, she should have an adult to watch over her. Let's go get the teacher."

Soon, the teacher came out and untied Shego. She then started looking Shego over. "My goodness, you're all scraped up. What happened to you?"

"I… got in a fight with an older kid," Shego answered, deciding an edited truth would be easier to come up with than an outright lie.

"Oh, dear. Fighting really isn't a good way to solve problems, you know."

"No, but it's fun."

The teacher sighed. "I think I'm going to have to have a talk with your parents…"

This comment stung Shego – in her own time, her parents were dead, killed by the same comet impact that gave her and her brothers their powers. And although they were alive at this point in time, they wouldn't have recognized her - she was the wrong age and had the wrong color skin.

In a voice devoid of emotion, she said, "Don't have any."

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that. What about your guardian, then?"

Her voice now defiant, she replied, "Don't need one. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have things to do." She started to walk away, but the teacher stopped her.

"Hold on. At least let me treat your injuries."

Shego sighed. "Fine, whatever."

The teacher led Shego inside, both of them ignoring the eyes of much of the class following them.

A few minutes later, the teacher had convinced Shego to take off her tattered and dirty jumpsuit so the teacher could get at the injuries underneath it.

As she worked, the teacher asked, "So, if you have no parents or guardian, where do you live?"

"I—" It was only at this point that Shego realized she had no place to stay. She couldn't go to her family in Go City, and Drakken wouldn't be building his first lair, or recruiting henchmen, for several years yet. She couldn't even rent an apartment, as she had little money on her and couldn't rely on her thieving skills until she'd adjusted to her new body…

"You don't have a home, do you?" the teacher said in a sad yet kind tone.

"…No…"

"Don't worry, I'll help you find a place to stay and someone to take care of you."

"What? You don't need to do that! I can take care of myself!"

The teacher raised an eyebrow. "Maybe, but you shouldn't have to. That's a job for grownups."

"But…" Shego trailed off, realizing there was nothing she could say to convince the teacher that she wasn't really a four-year-old.

Shego sighed to herself. _"Oh well. If someone wants to pay for my food and housing while I get on my feet, who am I to argue?"_

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_The Present:_

In Middleton, a black-haired teenage girl was lying on her bed in only her black lace lingerie, reading a fashion magazine by the light of one glowing green hand.

When her cell-phone played a tune similar to the Kimmunicator's tune, but slightly darker, she dropped the magazine and put the phone to her ear.

"Yo," the teen greeted.

On the other end, teen-Kim's voice said, "Shego, Ron, I just heard from Wade. Seems he just had to send out a jet to pick up – get this – another me!"

"Another you?" both Shego and Ron (who's phone was also linked in to Kim's Kimmunicator) said.

"That's what he said. Apparently she's a time-traveler from an alternate time-line, and she just got back from the past."

Shego's eyes widened. "Are you saying she's the Kim from my history?!"

"Got me. Sounds like it could be, though."

"Cool," Ron commented.

"Well, shoot," Shego said with a smile. "Bout time. Maybe we'll finally find out why she abandoned me in the past, eh?"

"Wade said her 'Chronal Manipulator' – her time machine, I guess – was broken in the fight with her Monkey Fist and Killagain."

Shego whistled. "That'd do it."

"Anyway, she needs a place to crash, so she'll be dropping by my place in an hour or two."

Ron asked, "Aww, why isn't she crashing at my place?"

Kim answered, "Because my house is her house too?"

"Oh, right."

Shego commented, "It's going to be strange – two Kims under the same roof? You'll be giving the Tweebs a run for their money!"

"Maybe not…" Kim argued. "You remember your Drakken's Juvenator?"

"How can I not? I'm still recovering from its' affects, after all."

"Well, you're not alone – Wade said the other Kim was hit by it too!"

"You're kidding!"

"Shego, I'm hurt! Me, kidding?" Kim said in a teasing voice.

Ron intoned in a dramatically low voice, "KP does not kid."

Shego said with a smile, "Suuure she doesn't."

Kim spoke up. "Anyway, this is the real deal. Wade sent me a picture – she doesn't look a day over five, if that!"

"No kidding! This I've gotta see. I'll be over there in ten." Shego got up and pulled out a green blouse and black pants.

"Wish I could," Ron said, "but my parents don't allow me out after ten unless it's a mission."

Shego suggested, "You could tell them it was – I mean, it is, after a fashion."

"Nah, too much like lying. And unlike you two, I do **not** lie to my parents."

"We know, we know," Shego assured him.

Kim said, "Shego, you don't have to come tonight. I know it's past your curfew, too, and she'll still be here in the morning."

"Gesundheit."

"Shego," Kim scolded.

"Anyway, did it occur to you this might be a trap?" Shego said as she pulled on her clothes one-handed. "Just because she **says** she's you--"

"Wade said she has my DNA," Kim interrupted.

"A clone then."

"I can handle myself. And Ron and Rufus are right next door if I need backup."

Ron chimed in, "That's right, KP, we got 'cho back." In the background, Rufus added, "Boo-ya!"

Shego argued, "Look, if this **is** the Kim I knew in my history, it's been years since I've seen her. I'm not waiting for morning." Shego pulled on her boots and headed out of her room by way of the window.

Kim sighed. "Fine. Just don't go picking any fights with her – the last thing I need is my parents being woken up at one in the morning by the house falling down around them."

Shego unlocked the door to her green sports-car and got in. "Hey, tell **her** that – she was the one who usually started our fights."

"Just like the trouble we get in is always my fault?"

"I just tell it like it is." Shego started her car.

"Suuure you do. Anyway, I'll see you in a bit."

"Right. Later," Shego said, closing her phone and slipping it into her pocket.

She had just put the car in gear when her foster-mother came out of the house, shouting, "Where do you think you're going?!"

Ignoring her, Shego pulled out and headed for the Possible household.

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_The Past:_

"An orphanage?" Shego wondered.

"Only until a family chooses to take you home," the Childcare Worker who'd taken on her case said.

"Right. Like anybody would want a green freak like me," Shego said sourly, remembering when she and her siblings had been in the orphanage after the comet struck.

"You can't give up hope. Surely there's someone out there who'd like a nice girl like you," the worker said, her adult-to-child voice masking whatever the worker might really think.

"If you think I'm nice..." Shego said with an sarcastic tone of voice and a mildly amused half-smile.

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_The Present:_

The Jet-Plane took Mini-Kim to the Middleton Airport, where a taxi was waiting for her.

A few minutes later, the taxi pulled up in front of the Possible house, and Kim got out. "Thanks for the ride," she said politely.

"You're welcome," the driver simply said, and drove off as soon as Kim had closed the car door.

"_Well, time to see what we're dealing with..."_ Kim thought as she walked toward the front door. Before she reached it, it opened, and a red-headed teenage girl stepped out.

Mini-Kim stared. It was like looking in a mirror, or would have been if Mini-Kim hadn't been juvenated.

Teen-Kim stepped aside, and a black-haired teenage girl followed her out. "Shego?" Mini-Kim asked in shock. She looked much younger than the Shego Mini-Kim was used to fighting, and was wearing relatively ordinary clothes, rather than her trademark jumpsuit.

"Hello, Kimmie. Long time no see," Shego said in a quite voice with only a trace of teasing and humor. "You're looking young these days, aren't you?"

"You're the Shego I left in the past," Mini-Kim realized.

"Bingo."

"Then you're responsible for corrupting this time-line's me," Mini-Kim accused, scowling.

"Corrupting?" Teen-Kim asked, while Shego quietly closed the door behind them.

Kim said accusingly, "Wade told me you're a thief."

"What?! What game's he playing? We're not thieves! Team Possible saves the world!" Teen-Kim said indignantly.

"Yeah, for a price. But that's not what I'm talking about. He said you, personally, had stolen things!"

"Well... yeah. Who hasn't stolen at least a few thing in her life?" Teen-Kim asked philosophically.

"**I** haven't!" Mini-Kim said.

Shego smirked as she said to Teen-Kim. "Your mother was right when she said I was a bad influence on you. ...I told you your other-self was a goody-two-shoes."

Teen-Kim scowled at Shego. "No, you didn't!"

"I didn't? Must have slipped my mind."

Teen-Kim shook her head. "...How did Wade find out, anyway, I wonder?"

Shego shrugged. "He's Wade."

Mini-Kim put her hand to her head. "This is **so** wrong."

Shego turned to Mini-Kim. "Hey, you brought it on yourself by leaving me in the past."

"I was going to come back for you, but I couldn't let Drakken and the others get away with the Time Monkey, could I?"

"But you did let them get away, didn't you? And neither you nor them chose to come get me. So I had every right to make a new history for myself," Shego said with a bit of resentment.

"Look," Mini-Kim said, "I don't know if Wade told you, but my Chronal-Manipulator got broken. So the only way I can get back in time to get you is to get my hands on the Time Monkey. Oh, wait," she added, getting angry, "that's right – you tossed its' head into the ocean!"

Shego got a bit angry as well. "I just told Kim that it was too dangerous to leave lying around where villains could go after it again, and I wasn't sure if it would be safe to destroy it. She's the one who threw it in the ocean."

Teen-Kim added, "And I don't regret it, either. Time-travel is too dangerous a thing for people to be messing around with."

Mini-Kim protested, "But, I can't set history right, or stop Drakken, if I can't travel through time."

Shego held up her hand. "Well, I can get one thing off your mind, then. The time-traveling versions of Drakken, Monkey Fist, and Killagain attacked us when we were on our first mission. Fist brought a giant stone gorilla with them, which made things a little tough, but between my powers and Ron's activating the laser defense system, we were able to beat it. After that, it didn't take long to force the three stooges to surrender."

Teen-Kim added, "Of course, they talked about how Shego was 'betraying' them, but really, what did they expect after leaving her to rot in the past for seven or eight years? Anyway, that was when Shego had to explain to me about the Tempus Simia and the Juvenator. I admit I felt a little betrayed myself to find out she'd been lying to me all those years, but she did choose to stick with me and Ron in the end, and that counts for a lot."

Mini-Kim scowled. "It didn't occur to you she might be using you? And if you really beat those three, what happened to their version of the Tempus Simia?"

Shego said. "I took it back apart, and hid the pieces. They're not as inaccessible as the head Kim sent to the bottom of the sea, but I don't think anyone but me can find them – and I have no intention of using them."

Mini-Kim was confused. "You don't? I would have expected you to go back in time and rescue yourself. Either that or set things up to make yourself rich..."

"That occurred to me... So did conquering the world, for that matter. But the fact of the matter is, I like this time-line better than the last, and if I want to be rich or rule the world, I don't need time-travel to do it."

"I just bet you like this time-line better – no Team Possible to get in your way!"

Teen-Kim spoke up. "Hey, just because she's part of the team doesn't mean the rest of us wouldn't try to stop her if she started hurting people or tried to take over the world."

Shego smiled and said, "As if any of you could," even as Mini-Kim shot back at Teen-Kim, "Yeah, that means a lot coming from you!"

Teen-Kim protested. "Hey, I just did a little shoplifting, and a few thefts from rich criminals. Nothing that does anyone any harm!"

"That's not the point! If you think one crime is okay, then why not another? How do you draw the line?"

Shego pointed out, "Hey, vigilantism is on the murky side of the law, too. Technically the ones hunting down and capturing criminals are supposed to be the police and other law-enforcement agencies. I bet if you weren't a kid and so good at making yourself the media's darling, the feds would have forced you to stop or join GJ long ago."

Mini-Kim was taken aback by this. "I-I just do the right thing..."

"That don't make it legal. How many private buildings have you broken into because someone you called a 'villain' lived there? Even if they were a convicted criminal, that's breaking and entering, and any evidence found in the process is inadmissible at court because you had no warrant. And, heck, don't tell me you didn't ever get sued for unnecessary roughness when taking down some villain."

"Not that I'm aware of," Mini-Kim said uncertainly.

"Then you were being kept in the dark, 'cause I know Dr. D sued you at least once or twice."

Quite disturbed by this, Mini-Kim shook her head and waved it aside. "Anyway, all I was trying to say is I don't trust you. Either of you," she added, glancing over at her other self.

Shego nodded. "Fair enough," she said, then crossed her arms. "Look, I'm still angry with you for not coming back for me, but seeing as how it's not your fault, you got zapped by the Juvenator too, and I don't want you to go back and change history by grabbing my past self, I'm willing to call it even."

"So I take it you're not going to hand over your version of the Tempus Simia so I can go return your past self to the present?"

Shego clapped her hands. "Hey, you're pretty smart, for a toddler!"

Mini-Kim scowled, then said, "Speaking of which, what ever happened to Drakken's Juvenator?"

Shego shrugged. "Confiscated by the police? Got me."

Mini-Kim sighed. "Well... maybe Wade can find some sign of it."

"Why not just grow up again, like I did? You'd be surprised how fun it can be to be a kid again."

Teen-Kim raised an eyebrow. "You didn't seem to think so back when we first met in pre-school."

Shego shrugged. "What can I say? Making a few friends helped."

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_The Past:_

"Class, today we have a new student," the teacher at Kim and Ron's preschool said a few days later. Standing next to her in a plain green blouse and skirt was a black-haired girl.

"Hey, it's that same girl from the other day!" Ron said to Kim.

The teacher told Shego, "Please introduce yourself."

Shego looked a little embarrassed. Holding up her hand for a slight wave, she said, "Uh, hi. I'm Shego." Feeling she needed to add to this, she held her fingers in a claw-like position and examined them. "I don't like people much, so don't bug me, and I won't bother you."

The teacher scolded quietly, "Shego, that wasn't very nice."

"Neither am I."

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_The Present:_

"Well, I'd better get home before Gail bursts a blood-vessel," Shego said, walking toward her car. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, KP!" She hopped in the car and closed the door behind her.

As Shego started the car, Mini-Kim asked, "KP?"

Teen-Kim explained, "It's something she and Ron started calling me not long after we met."

"Ron's always called me that, but I never expected to hear that from Shego's lips."

Teen-Kim shrugged.

"And who's 'Gail'?"

"Abigail Anderson – Shego's foster mom. A bit rough around the edges, and I get the feeling doesn't love Shego so much as she tolerates her, but she's been able to handle living with Shego for several years now, which is a lot more than any of her previous foster parents."

"Why does she even need foster-parents? She's an adult!"

"Not to anybody who looks at her." She glanced at Mini-Kim. "Or do you expect to jump right back into your old life looking like that?"

"Er... well I hadn't really thought about it yet. I suppose a three-foot-tall cheerleader wouldn't work very well..."

"Cheerleader? You're a cheerleader?!"

"Of course! Aren't you?"

"No way! Why would I want to stand on the sidelines rooting for the guys? If I'm going to be involved in a sport, I'm going to **play** it!"

"Well, cheerleading is sort-of a sport in-and-of itself..." Mini-Kim said, defending her chief non-heroic pastime.

"Right. Keep telling yourself that, if it helps you keep your self respect," Teen-Kim said in a sarcastic tone that reminded Mini-Kim of Shego, as she walked to the door. "Well, come on in. Lets get a look at those injuries of yours, then find a place for you to sleep for the night."

"What about Mom and Dad?" Mini-Kim asked, as they stepped inside.

"What about them?"

"Shouldn't we tell them about all this?"

"In the middle of the night? It can wait for morning."

"I suppose..."

The two Kims headed for the bathroom, where they had the proper supplies to patch Mini-Kim up.

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_The Past:_

Shego was sitting in a corner, bored out of her skull. _"I should have skipped class. It's not like I'm going to learn anything new in preschool. But that dang social worker stuck to me like glue – it looks like if I'm going to get free room and board, I'll need to play along with the whole 'little kid' thing for a while..." _ She took out a nail-file and started filing her nails.

"_Maybe I should start thinking about how a toddler could get by on her own. I'm sure I could steal things just fine – if anything, this body will deflect suspicion and give me greater forgiveness if I am caught. But no one would rent an apartment to a kid... _ _ A lot of stores probably wouldn't sell to me, either, which means I'd have to steal __**everything**__ I needed__..._

"_Shoot – unless I can think of something creative, I might have to stick with the government-sponsored child-care bumbling until my body's a bit older..."_

"So, can you teach me to be an escape artist, too?"

Shego looked up, startled, to see Ron there. "What?"

"You said you were learning how to escape from ropes the other day. I want to learn too!"

"Uh, in case you didn't notice, I didn't exactly succeed in escaping on my own."

"So, we can learn together."

"Why would I want to learn with you?"

"I... I don't know. I just thought it might be fun..."

"Well, it doesn't sound fun to me," Shego said grumpily.

"Is there anything else you want to do? I mean, you looked kind of lonely sitting all alone over here..."

"I like being alone. It keeps people from annoying me."

"Oh. Well, if you decide you want to do something, me and Kim would be happy to play with you." He started to walk away.

"Whatever yousay... buffoon," Shego said, returning her attention to her nails.

Ron stopped. "Huh? My name's not 'Buffoon,' it's Ron."

Shego sighed. "Whatever you say, **Ron**."

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_The Present:_

"There, all done," Teen-Kim announced, securing the last bandage.

"I could have done that myself," Mini-Kim pointed out.

"Sorry... it's hard to think of you as being as old as me, especially now that we have good lighting..."

Mini-Kim sighed. "It's okay. Let's just head to bed. It's been a long day."

"Yeah, I suppose it was, for you."

As they walked into Kim's room, Mini-Kim added, "To top it all off, I think I'm suffering from temporal jet-lag."

"Ooh, nasty," Teen-Kim agreed.

Teen-Kim closed the door behind them, turned on a light, and started digging through her closet. Mini-Kim looked around the room. It was the same room within the house as her room had been, and there were many similarities, such as the placement of the bed, the coloring of the walls, and even her pandaroo. However, instead of posters of the boy-bands she liked, there were posters of Japanese action cartoons, and instead of pictures of her and Ron, there were pictures of her, Ron, and Shego.

"It's like returning to a place after being away for years. It's still the same place, but at the same time, it's so different..." Mini-Kim noted.

"Hmm..." Teen-Kim tossed a sleeping bag on the floor. "You want the bed or the floor?" she asked.

"Well... it is your room," Mini-Kim said hesitantly.

"Which makes you a guest, so I have to offer you the bed," Teen-Kim said with an overly cheerful smile, just before she pulled off her shirt and tossed it in the general direction of the hamper.

Trying to ignore how her "older"-self's attitude was grating on her nerves, Mini-Kim said, "No, you take the bed. Waking up in this room is going to be strange enough. Let's not confuse me by having me wake up in the right bed in the wrong time-line..."

"Suit yourself," Teen-Kim said, taking off her shoes and socks, followed by her pants. She tossed the pants and socks toward the hamper, then climbed into bed.

"Aren't you going to put on some pajamas?" Mini-Kim asked, as she took off her own shoes and socks.

"Why? I'll only have to take them off again in the morning, and it's not like anyone's going to see me like this besides you. Besides, it's more comfortable sleeping in the nude or near-nude."

Mini-Kim stared up at Teen-Kim. Deciding not to dwell on who Teen-Kim had probably got the idea from, Mini-Kim said, "What about the Tweebs?"

"Jim and Tim? Ah, don't worry about them. They know better than to sneak into my room."

Mini-Kim also decided not to ask what it took to convince them of that, and straightened out the sleeping bag. As she climbed into it, she had to wonder if she would ever get used to this new time-line. She could only hope she didn't have to. Rufus 3000 could still appear any time, and if not, maybe she could find Shego's Time Monkey. Somehow or other, she had to return things to normal!

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_The Past:_

"Hey!" Shego said loudly and angrily, turning to shake her fist at the kid who had spilled his water all over Shego.

The boy backed away, eyes wide. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" the boy said fearfully and apologetically.

"Yeah, whatever, go away," Shego said, "shew"ing him away.

Another boy laughed. "Maybe she should be watered from time-to-time! She's green, so she's gotta be part plant." Several other student laughed.

Shego clenched her teeth and her fists, but forced herself not to light up her hands.

Just as she was contemplating how to best get back at the other kids, without permanently harming them, Kim spoke up. "It's not nice to make fun of someone because of the color of their skin!"

More out of fear than remorse, the kid stammered, "I'm sorry. I won't do it again!" He then moved away to try hiding amongst the other kids.

Shego stood there, stunned. She'd never expected to have Kim Possible stand up for her!

Kim asked, "Are you all right?"

Shego blinked, then looked at her. "Of course I am. He never even touched me."

Ron, who had came over as well, said sagely, "Words can hurt, too."

Pushing away the memories of Drakken saying things to the same effect, she said, "Well, people have called me worse before. Done worse things than spill water on me, too."

Kim said, "That's too bad. Maybe you should stand up to them?"

Ron nodded, and said, "Those kids that were picking on me and Kim haven't been back since Kim stood up to them. You know, the blue guy, the guy with the monkey feet, and the boy in the skirt."

Shego smiled wryly. "Blue-boy, Skirt-boy, and Monkey Feet! I like that!" She chuckled. "I'll have to call them that the next time I see them. Yeah, I saw them run off the playground the first day. I always knew Blue-boy was a wimp, but I never suspected they were all such **big** wimps."

Ron asked, "They gave you trouble before, too?"

"Er... A little bit." Not quite sure why she was telling them this, she none-the-less continued, "I thought they were my friends... Or Blue-boy, at least... But when we got in trouble this last time, they abandoned me! And even before that they weren't treating me as nice as they used to..."

Kim and Ron looked at each-other. Kim asked her, "What did you get in trouble for doing?"

"Er..." Shego paused, realizing it wouldn't be easy to come up with a version of the truth that would explain this one. "It's kind of hard to explain."

Ron asked, "Why's it hard to explain?"

"Well, Doctor D – that is, Blue-boy – he comes up with these really complicated plans, and a lot of it is really strange – I don't think you'd believe me if I did tell you."

"Plans for what?" Kim asked.

"Oh, you know, Global Domination, that sort of thing," Shego said without thinking. Then her eyes widened, as she realized what she'd said.

Ron said, "Oh! I get it! You were playing, and you got so enthused you broke the rules. ...You really should be more careful."

"Uh... yeah," Shego said, relieved that they'd came up with an explanation for her.

Kim said, "So anyway, about those bullies, you won't let them tease you any more, will you?"

"I never do! It's just that whenever I try to teach someone a lesson, I'm the one who gets in trouble for it!" she said, letting loose resentment she still held from her days in school (the first time around) and on Team Go.

"Maybe you need to explain that they started it?" Kim offered.

"It never matters. I'm not supposed to fight at all, unless I'm defending someone – and then I can't really hurt them, no matter how much they hurt me or anybody else! It makes me so frustrated. That's why I joined up with Blue-boy. I figured, if I was going to get in trouble anyway, I might as well have fun getting in trouble."

Ron said, "Uh, huh. I think I see the problem here. Fighting to defend yourself or someone else is good. But fighting to hurt someone is bad. So is doing things to get in trouble on purpose."

Shego crossed her arms. "Well, maybe I like being bad."

"Do you?" Kim asked.

Ron said, "It certainly didn't win her any friends. Let's go, Kim. If she likes to hurt people, I don't want to be around her."

Kim looked uncertain, but when Shego said nothing and looked away, Kim nodded, and the two started walking off.

Feeling like she was letting something important go, Shego called out, "Wait!" But when they turned to her, she didn't know what to say. "Never mind." Silently, she walked off to a corner of the room.

Kim and Ron looked at each other for a few moments, then Kim said, "Maybe she just needs some real friends."

Ron scratched his head and said, "I don't know about this," but he followed Kim over.

Shego scowled at them as they came closer. "What do you want?"

Despite the tone Shego had used, Kim gave her best smile. "If you promise not to try to hurt people anymore, we could be friends. I'm Kim Possible."

Ron said, nervously, "I'm Ron Stoppable."

Shego sat there, looking at them expressionlessly for a little while. Finally, she said, "I actually never really liked hurting people, I just didn't know what to do with my anger..."

Kim burst into a grin.

Ron said, trying to be helpful, "Maybe you should get an adult to take you to Anger Management classes?"

Kim shot him a puzzled look.

"What?" he asked.

Turning back to Shego, Kim said, "We'll help you find other things to do when you're angry. Maybe you could build a block tower or a sand castle, then knock it down?"

Ron said, "Hey, I think I saw that on an episode of 'Mr. Rogers'!"

Kim giggled nervously. "I guess I can't take credit for the idea, then, huh?"

Shego found herself smiling, though she didn't know why. The idea was childish, of course – but Kim was well-meaning, and, well... Who knows...?

"Okay, I'll try it. Having someone to hang out with will make things less boring, if nothing else. But before we can be friends, I have to show you something."

"What?"

"Can you keep a secret? I don't want anyone else to know about this right now."

Kim nodded, but Ron said, "I'm not allowed to keep secrets from my parents. I can keep it a secret from the other kids, though – whatever it is."

Shego asked, "But if you don't tell your parents about it, how will they know you're breaking the rules?"

Ron said mysteriously, "Parents have their ways..."

Shego shook her head. "Actually, you can tell anyone you like – but if you do, I'll just say we were pretending, and you'll look silly."

While Ron thought about that, Kim said, "So, what is it?"

"Come over here." Shego had them huddle in the corner with her, the backs of the three blocking the view of anyone looking in their direction. Then, she lit up her hands.

"Wow! You have super powers!" Ron said, a little louder than keeping it a secret would suggest.

Kim and Shego scowled at him, and blushing, he looked over his shoulder and told the class, "Heh, heh, just pretending, of course." Everyone rolled their eyes, smiled or scowled at the interruption, then went back to what they were doing.

Kim asked Shego, "How do you do that?"

Shego shrugged. "I don't know. It's just something I've been able to do... Ever since that comet hit me and my brothers' tree house..."

Ron wondered, "Was it a magic comet?"

"I guess. It turned me green and gave me the ability to make plasma." She let the glow die out.

Ron said, "Maybe it was sent by God or some powerful alien so you could use your powers to fight against evil!"

Shego scowled at him and said darkly, "If it was sent by someone with good intentions, they did a lousy job."

"Why do you say that?"

"That same comet killed my parents."

Kim and Ron's eyes widened, and Ron said, "I didn't know. I'm sorry."

Kim put her hand on Shego's shoulder comfortingly, "That must have been horrible."

"I-I've gotten over it," Shego said, though to her surprise she felt tears threatening. _"Darn child-body," _she thought, _"Didn't know it would be more emotional!"_

"You don't sound like it," Ron said, putting his hand on her other shoulder.

Quietly, Kim asked, "You said you had brothers. Were they killed too?"

"No, but we argued, and I ran away." Shego wiped her eyes, trying to get a hold of herself. _"I'm a nearly unbeatable mercenary, and an international criminal - not a toddler! I put all this behind me years ago! So, why is talking about it now hurting so much? ...But then, this is the first time I've ever really talked about it, if you don't count my arguments with Hego..."_

Kim suggested, "Maybe you should go back to them? Being with the rest of your family would probably help."

"I... Even if I wanted to, I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"It... It's hard to explain. I... I just don't know how to get back there anymore..."

"Maybe if you told an adult, they could help?"

"No... they wouldn't understand, wouldn't know how to get me home. The only ones that do are Blue-boy and his friends, and they abandoned me..." And as she said that, Shego realized that no matter what happened, she would never work for Drakken (or Monkey Fist or Killagain) again. And anyone who could have came back to get her and didn't better have a good excuse, or there was going to be a reckoning...

Kim moved in and gave Shego a half hug, and Ron imitated her a moment later. Kim said, "That's terrible. No wonder you were so angry! Don't worry, though, we're your friends, now, and we won't let anything else happen to you!"

Shego looked up at Kim and started to smile a little. Even though it was the promise of a four-year-old, it somehow made her feel better. "And you can do anything, right?" Shego asked half-jokingly, not realizing that it would have taken years for Kim to come up with that slogan on her own.

Kim blushed, and said, "Well, my dad does always say, 'Anything's possible for a Possible!'"

Shego and Ron smiled, and Shego pulled out of the little huddle they'd formed.

"Come on," Shego said, "let's get out of this corner and go do something. You mentioned something about building a tower and knocking it down again?"

Kim, remembering her earlier suggestion, said, "Oh, right! This way!" And she ran off towards the blocks, followed by Ron and Shego.

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Next: Parents


	3. Parents of the Children of Time

_Ten Years Ago:_

A car drove down the street of the suburbs of Go City. Inside, a black-haired six-year old girl looked out anxiously. "Here," Shego said with some excitement. "This is my old neighborhood!"

Her foster father, Mister Pinkle smiled. "That's great. Maybe if we talk to someone here, they might know what happened to your brothers."

"No," Shego said sadly, "no one would know."

"It wouldn't hurt to ask."

"Maybe later. Can we go home now?"

"Of course."

As he pulled away, Mr. Pinkle didn't notice a girl on the verge of her teenage years helping her brothers build a tree house in the back yard of one of the houses. The young Shego did, however, and as she gazed out the window at her past self, she promised, _"Don't worry, I'll make it right..."_

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**Sitch Three:**

**Parents of the Children of Time**

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_The Present: _

Something seemed a little off to Kim as she slowly woke up. She wasn't in bed – instead, she was in a sleeping bag. There was also something strange about her body, but she couldn't place it. Opening her eyes, she realized she was on the floor of her room.

When sitting up didn't get her as high as it should, and she saw someone else on her bed, it all came back to her – the Time Monkey, the Juvenator, and her Shego-fied alternate self...

Kim looked around at the room, looking for clues to what this new Kim was like.

As she'd noted the night before, instead of posters of the boy-bands she liked, there were posters of Japanese action cartoons. The same martial arts trophies she had won were on the shelves, but instead of cheerleading trophies, there were gymnastics trophies. She was curious what this Kim might have for clothing, but felt that looking in her draws might be taking the whole, "we're the same person" thing too far. She did, however, open the closet for a quick peak. Nothing in particular stood out, other than that jacket she'd once worked at Bueno Nachos to save up for but never actually bought.

Deciding she wanted to get explaining things to her family over with, she carefully closed the closet door, walked over to the bed, and said, "Kim? Time to get up." When this produced no response, she said more loudly, "Come on, we have a lot of explaining to do this morning."

Kim could just make out her teen-bodied self mumble, "But I didn't do anything..."

"No, you're not in trouble – we need to explain **me**! You know, your juvenated time-traveling alter-ego?"

Teen-Kim mumbled something unintelligible.

Mini-Kim put her hands on her hips. "Come on, get up!"

"Five more minutes, Mom. Promise I won't be late for school today, Shego's driving..."

Frustrated, Mini-Kim jumped up on the bed and started shaking teen-Kim. Teen-Kim growled, "Tweebs, I warned you before, don't come in my room! Know... fifteen kinds of kung-fu... sic Shego on you... scientific experiment... " Her voice trailed off, and the only other word Mini-Kim could make out sounded like, "bananas".

Shaking her head, Mini-Kim climbed down off the bed. _"Guess I'll just have to start on my own."_

She pulled on her socks and shoes from the day before, realizing as she did that they'd have to get her some new clothes. _"That could be embarrassing," _she thought, considering that they would have to be clothes for a toddler.

As if the universe were conspiring to remind her of her new body, she next found herself reaching up in order to reach the door knob. _"Yet another new challenge... when are things going to be back to normal again?"_ She deliberately ignored the distinct possibility things might never again be back to what she considered normal.

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_The Past:_

Clarice Gonzales walked over to the front door. Opening it, she found a young girl that looked much like her daughter had as a child – except this child had pale skin with a slight greenish tint to it.

"Can I help you?" Clarice asked.

"I don't suppose if I told you I was a time-traveling version of your daughter, and that in a month or two a comet is going to hit this house, killing you and your husband and changing your kids forever, you'd believe me?"

Clarice was speechless for a moment. Finally, she said, "You do look remarkably like a younger version of my daughter, but... no, I don't believe in such things."

"What about this sort of thing?" the girl said, holding up her hand, which burst into green flame.

"Oh!" Clarice stepped back in surprise. Putting her hand to her chest, she said, "That's certainly quite the trick you've got there."

"The comet gave me these powers."

"I see... While this is all quite interesting, perhaps it is time you head home to your parents?"

"I told you, you're my mother."

"No, I only have one daughter, and you're not her."

Clarice thought she saw a tear starting to form in the girl's eye, but the girl just nodded, and walked away. Clarice felt her own heart breaking for the child, but knew the child was wrong. The girl couldn't be her daughter... right?

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_The Present:_

Mr. and Mrs. Doctor Possible were sitting down at the breakfast table when someone came tentatively down the stairs. Both looked up, curious who it would be, and to their surprise found themselves seemingly having a flashback to when Kim was young.

"Mom, Dad, I have a slight problem. A couple of them, in fact..."

Anne Possible asked, "Kim, is that you?"

James Possible added, "Don't tell me, you got struck by a de-aging ray."

Kim answered, "Well, yes, but that's not all. You see I'm not really your daughter. I mean I am, but I'm not. I mean – Oh, I'm not making any sense!"

James said, "Take a deep breath, and try to explain it slowly, from the beginning."

"The beginning...? Right... Well..." And then, with a deep breath, and abandoning the "slow" instruction, she said, "Ron's family had to go to Norway, but then Drakken, Monkey Fist, and Duff Killagain were trying to steal this stone monkey idol, the Tempus Simia, and without Ron I couldn't stop them, and they had to reattach the head, so I followed them to Australia with Monique but we still couldn't stop them, then they had to bring the idol to a temple in Africa, and Ron made it, but we were out-of-sync, and the villains got away through a swirling red vortex. So then I'm lying on my bed that night, when a super-evolved naked mole rat appeared through a blue vortex and said he was Rufus 3000 from twenty years in the future, and he needed my help to stop the Supreme One because Drakken had used the Time Monkey – that's what Tempus Simia means – to travel through time and change history. So then I went to the past to try to stop them, and I find they've all turned into toddlers, and I fight Shego and my past self fights the other three, and they try to get away, so I follow them through the time-vortex, but I forgot Shego in the past, and I guess she made friends with my past self and corrupted me; meanwhile I arrive in the present and fight with the three bad-guys, but they use the Juvenator on me and I'm turned into a toddler and can't fight, so they get away, and my time-wristband is broken so I'm stuck in the present even though I want to go back to the past to get Shego, and to follow Drakken and his friends, but instead I have to come home here where my other self and Shego are all buddy-buddy and she's even stolen stuff and I have to figure out some other way to travel through time to set things right!" Kim took a deep breath, then started panting.

James and Anne looked at each other.

James said, "I think you need to try that again."

Anne added, "And this time, **sslloowwllyy**.**" **

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_The Past:_

"Where were you yesterday?" Kim asked.

Ron added, "Your Dad was really worried."

"He's not my dad," Shego said.

"Sorry. Mr. Pinkle was really worried."

"I was in my old neighborhood, talking with people."

Kim said, "I thought you didn't remember how to get there?"

Shego continued, as if not hearing, "No one recognized me..."

Ron asked, "Because you're green now?"

Shego looked in his general direction, but her mind seemed to be miles away. "Yeah, because I'm green... among other things..."

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_The Present:_

"Come now, dear, you didn't expect to sleep in today, not with a time-traveling copy of yourself to explain, now did you?" Anne Possible asked her teen daughter, who sat grumpy and sleepy-eyed at the table in a black shirt and green cargo pants.

"I was hoping it was a dream," Teen-Kim muttered.

Mini-Kim crossed her arms and said, "You didn't seem that unhappy to see me last night."

Teen-Kim shrugged. "Guess the novelty's worn off. Anyway, it's not that I don't want you around, I just..." She spread her arms. "Do have any idea how complicated this makes things?"

Mini-Kim said, "Hey, I'm the one juvenated and in the wrong time-line."

"Sorry," Teen-Kim apologized.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and moments later, Ron was let in.

Mini-Kim's eyes lit up. "Ron! You're not in Norway!"

"Uh... No, why would I be?" Shaking his head to clear it of this idea, he knelt down. "So you're the little Kim I've heard so much about."

Mini-Kim scrunched up her face at this. "Please, that makes me sound like that rap singer!"

Teen-Kim said, "We could call her Chibi-Kim."

Mini-Kim asked, "'Chibi'?"

Ron said, "Hey, like Chibi-Usa! That works!"

Mini-Kim asked, "What's a 'Chibi-Usa'?"

"You know, the Japanese name for Rini? In Sailor Moon?"

"Sorry, Ron, never watched much Japanimation."

Teen-Kim scowled. "It's called Anime. And actually, I wasn't thinking of Chibi-Usa, just chibis in general – she is small, after all."

Mini-Kim buried her face in her hands and groaned.

Ron put his hand on her shoulder. "Cheer up, Chibi-KP, it's not that bad. There are a lot of advantages to being a kid again."

"Such as?"

"Well... you get discounts at the movies and amusement parks..."

Mini-Kim just shook her head.

Just then, Jim and Tim raced in. "Hey," "What's everybody doing -" "-up so early?" they asked.

Mini-Kim turned and looked at them. "Oh, great. I'm smaller than the Tweebs!"

Jim and Tim came over and looked her over. "Who's this?" "She looks like Kim in the old photo-albums!"

Ron explained, "Juvenated time-traveling version of Kim."

"Cool!" the Tweebs exclaimed together. They gave her another look over, then said, "We have a little sister! Can we keep her?"

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_The Past:_

Andrew Gonzales locked the door to his house, and walked to the van, which the rest of his family was already seated in. As he got into the driver's seat, he asked, "Alright, everybody have everything?"

Hector nodded, but Melvin was desperately searching through a pack. "Wait... Where is... No, I found it. Okay, I think I have everything."

Clarice looked into the back seat, where her youngest sons were pestering her daughter. "Wendell? Wallace? You don't need to use the bathroom before we go, do you?"

"No, Mom," they answered together.

"Alright, then, I think we're good to go, Andrew."

Andrew nodded, and started the van. He then pulled out, and the family headed off on their trip.

Across the street, hidden in the bushes, the juvenated Shego watched them drive off.

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_The Present:_

"You know," Ron commented, "it's kind of like the Kim I knew in pre-K stepped out of the past."

"Well, I did step out of the past, but I hope I don't need to remind you that I'm just as old as the Kim you know," Mini-Kim pointed out. It felt a little strange thinking of her doppleganger as the Kim he knew – Ron, more than anybody else, she wished could be the version from her time-line.

"True, but since the last bit of history we share is back in pre-school, it's still kind of similar."

"Well, there are probably some things since then that are similar... you still have Team Possible, for instance, and I noticed some of Kim's martial-arts trophies are the same as mine."

"What about the gymnastics trophies?"

"Actually, I'm not a gymnast. I'm a cheerleader."

Ron's eyes widened, and he grinned. "You're a cheerleader? Me too!"

Teen-Kim rolled her eyes. "Great, now he'll be insufferable for the rest of the day."

James Possible commented, "As interesting as this all is, shouldn't you kids be getting ready for school?"

Jim and Tim said, "Aww!" in disappointment, but didn't argue as Anne shooed them out.

Anne started making breakfast, while teen-Kim headed back upstairs to wash up.

Meanwhile, Ron and Mini-Kim compared cheerleading notes. It seemed he was the founder and leader of a team of male cheerleaders for the girls' events. He was impressed with Mini-Kim for being the leader of the girls' cheerleading squad, and for dealing with Bonnie on a daily basis, but disappointed in the other Ron for only making "Mascot".

Soon, everybody sat down for breakfast. Mini-Kim found herself being interrogated from all sides about her life, and she did her best to be truthful without sounding braggy. Although her parents seemed to be reserving judgment to some extent, everybody was impressed nonetheless – except teen-Kim, who was beginning to realize that she might be expected to live up to Mini-Kim's example.

So it was that teen-Kim was in a surly mood when Shego stopped by to pick her and Ron up.

"So, settling in?" Shego asked Mini-Kim.

"Er, not yet..."

Shego nodded, and said sagely, "I can relate. Takes time to get used to a new time-line."

Ron and teen-Kim said goodbye and stepped out. Shego added, "Well, talk to you later, Princess," and headed out herself.

As the the teens walked to the car, Shego asked teen-Kim, "So, how you holding out?"

Teen-Kim clenched her fists. "That brat is starting to get on my nerves. 'Goody-two-shoes' is putting it lightly! From what she's saying, she's beyond a saint – practically Christ's Second Coming! Nobody's that good – she's got to be making some of it up."

Shego shook her head. "I've only know the old Kim Possible to lie to her parents once. She's not really perfect, but it isn't from lack of trying, and adults respect that."

"Just great," teen-Kim grumbled as she got in the passenger side.

As Ron sat down in the back, he said, "Eh, she's not that bad. So she's got good grades and doesn't get into trouble – what's wrong with that?"

Teen-Kim said, "If you like her so much, why don't you have her stay over at your house?"

Ron just shrugged.

...Meanwhile, in the house, Mini-Kim looked at her parents. "So..."

"So..."

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_The Past:_

Shego crossed the road, then made her way to the Gonzales' back-yard. She pulled out the spare key from its' hiding space, and let herself in the back door.

She slowly made her way through the house, letting the memories flood back. She went through the house from top to bottom, re-memorizing the layout, and checking for anything unexpected (like pets or rooms she wasn't allowed in as a kid). Finding nothing odd, she then went through the house again, room by room, finding what was irreplaceable (such as photo-albums and heirlooms), what might be hard to replace, and what was expendable. As she did so, she gathered the irreplaceable items, and the most valuable, in the living-room.

When noon arrived, she made herself lunch from the food in the kitchen, then went back to work. Her work took her most of the day. Around five, she made supper, then went into the living-room and watched some TV. When she'd had enough of that, she headed up to her old-self's room, and, after looking around the room a while just for nostalgia's sake, went to sleep in her old-self's bed.

In the morning, she packed up all the stuff she'd collected in boxes, then went through the house again, looking for anything she might have missed. Satisfied she'd gotten everything the family might find irreplaceable, she addressed the boxes to her elderly grandmother's house, where the family was staying. (Shego thought back to how Grandma had tried to care for them when their parents had died, but hadn't been up to it, and had had to put them in the orphanage...)

She then called a delivery service, and, doing her best to make her voice sound older, arranged to have the boxes picked up.

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_The Present:_

"That's an awful ordeal you've had to go through, Kimmie," Anne Possible said, talking to Mini-Kim after they'd seen the Tweebs off to school.

James Possible added, "If you want, I can work with your friend Wade on finding a way to reverse the Juvenator. I can't promise anything regarding the Chronal Manipulator, though – if it was (or will be) cutting edge twenty years from now, I'm not sure we can do anything with it right now..."

Mini-Kim said, "I guess I'll just have to try to convince Shego to let me use her Time Monkey..."

James said, "Good luck there – she's a stubborn one."

Anne said with concern, "If she's invested twelve years in this time line, she may not be anxious to give it up. And don't forget, from what you say, she's had the Time Monkey for several years, and resisted the urge to use it. I think she may be committed to this time-line."

James rubbed his chin. "She might have the right idea. Messing with the time-stream is a dangerous thing. You could unravel the fabric of space-time, or get trapped in a temporal paradox, or erase yourself from existence, or at the very least, end up in a history even less like your own. Might be best to quit while you're ahead."

Mini-Kim was shocked. "But-but, I just can't! Shego's in the past, Drakken, Monkey Fist, and Killagain are running free through time, and this time-line's all wrong!"

"No, Shego's in the present, one of the good-guys now, and Drew and his friends are in jail with no way to travel through time. And as for this time-line, I think it's just fine."

Anne added with a smile, "Although, we wouldn't mind a daughter that was a bit better behaved," and she winked at Mini-Kim.

Mini-Kim gaped. "But - !" She tried to think of something to say, some way to explain why she had to travel back in time, but her mind came up blank.

Finally, she said spitefully, "You do know your version of me is a thief, right?"

Anne and James looked at each other before Anne answered, "We suspected as much, but we couldn't find any proof."

Kim said, "Wade told me, and Kim confirmed it. They didn't tell me what she'd stolen, though..."

James rested his arms on the table and leaned forward. "Look, we're not the first parents to have a kid who doesn't have proper respect for the law, and we won't be the last. We don't like it, but we can handle it.

"If you really think it's necessary to change history again, we'll support you. We're just saying that we personally don't feel this time-line is so bad that you need to resort to time-travel to fix it."

Kim looked down, saying nothing.

" ...Oh, one more thing to consider. Even if you go and remove Shego from when you left her in the past, history will have still been altered slightly by Drew and his friends, as well as by your short time there. History might return to something closer to what you're familiar with, or it might not, but either way... Well, judging by what happened when you returned to the present this time, you may find another version of you already living in any future time-line you create, as well..."

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_The Past:_

"I really shouldn't be accepting packages from someone so young," the delivery man said to Shego.

"My parents were busy, so they asked me to give you the packages."

"That's a big job they entrusted you with..."

"Right. Which is why I don't want to let them down. So could you please take the packages?"

"I don't know... It really goes against policy."

Shego sighed. Well, time to play her trump card. She pulled out a handful of money and held it out to him. "You can have this if you do this for me."

The man slowly took the money, and leafed through it. "Kid, where did you get this?"

Shego smiled and asked, "Does it matter?"

The man glanced around, and seeing that nobody was watching, stuffed the money in his pocket. "I guess it really isn't against policy if I don't know that you're too young..."

"Actually I'm twenty-five, I just look young for my age," Shego said truthfully.

The man chuckled. "Oh! Well, then, there's no problem."

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_The Present:_

"So your versions of Drakken, Monkey Fist, and Killagain should still be in jail in this time-line?" Wade asked.

"That's right," Mini-Kim said. "Shego said they still had the Juvenator with them when they were arrested, so I'd like you to see if you can find it."

"No problem. It probably won't take too long, but I've got a few other things to do, so I'll get back to you in a few hours."

"Okay. Thanks." Kim turned off the Kimmunicator and turned to her Mom. "If he can find it, and it works, I'll be able to share clothes with the other Kim for a while."

"I'm not too sure she'll be happy about that. We might have to go clothes shopping for you anyway."

Kim sighed. "I suppose so. But first we need to know what size to shop for!"

Anne nodded.

Kim rested her arms on the table, and lay her head on them. "Mom, what am I going to do? I want to go back to my own time-line, with my own room, my own clothes... my own life! But according to what Dad says, even if I fix things, I still won't have a place here!"

Anne put her arm on Kim's shoulder. "Don't worry, even if you're not the Kim who we remember raising, you still have a place here."

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_The Past:_

Shego went through the house one last time, not so much looking for anything missed, but saying goodbye.

Finally satisfied, she walked into the living room, and lit up her hands.

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_The Present:_

The chime of the Kimmunicator sounded like a child's piano, and Mini-Kim winced. Turning it on, she asked, "What's the sitch, Wade?"

"Bad news, Kim. It seems when the Police couldn't figure out the Juvenator, they sent it to a research laboratory. The lab hadn't gotten very far with it, though, before it was stolen."

"What? By who?"

Wade looked pained. "Well, it seems that Drakken and Killagain had Juvenated themselves before the battle with you (er, your other self), and they never got a chance to return to adults. As a result, they didn't go to jail, just Juvenile Detention – which was no trouble for them to escape from."

Kim slapped her forehead.

"As for Monkey Fist - well, the police didn't expect him to have ninja skills, so he was able too escape too."

"That figures."

"Shortly after the three escaped, the Juvinator was stolen by someone dressed like a ninja."

"Monkey Fist."

"That's what I figure - though there's no real proof."

"But wait, this was years ago – why didn't you and the other know?"

"Remember, this was before I came on the team. No one would think much of a couple of kid's escaping Juvie Hall, and though a search was made for Monkey Fist, it never made the news. I didn't know about his escape until I looked into what happened to him, so it makes sense the others wouldn't have heard either."

"But, haven't they caused any trouble since then?"

"Nope, they've been real quiet. I doubt they've gone straight, though – probably biding their time, maybe giving their other selves the chance to catch up with them."

"This is so not good."

"Tell me about it. Look, I'll keep an eye-out for them. If they are doing anything criminal, or their cover has any holes, I'll find them."

Kim nodded. "And where we find my Drakken, we'll find the Juvenator."

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_The Past:_

When the neighbors noticed smoke and flames rising from the Gonzales house, they called the Fire Department. However, the fire spread quickly, and by time the fire fighters arrived, the house was in bad shape.

The job of fighting the fire was relatively routine, and before too long, the house had been put out. Much of the structure was still intact, but the walls were badly damaged, and everything inside the house was a loss.

Later, the police investigators said that it was an odd fire – there was no one point of origin; rather, it seemed many places throughout the house had caught fire within a few minutes of each other. Arson was suspected, but how or why the fire had been started couldn't be determined.

Various reports by neighbors of a black-haired girl hanging around the house, and leaving around the same time the fires would have started were taken note of, but no-one could identify the girl.

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_The Present:_

"Look, we don't need to do this, Mom! I'm sure Wade will find my Drakken soon, and I'll be back to my normal self in no time!" Mini-Kim said as she and Anne walked through the mall.

Anne said, "Maybe, but if he's managed to stay hidden this long, it may be difficult to find him. If it does take a while, I don't want you wearing the same clothes every day. Don't worry, anything you haven't worn yet we can return, and what you have we can donate."

"It's just, this is so embarrassing," Kim said quietly, looking around at the children's clothes.

"Oh, don't worry so much! There's no reason why anyone will think your not an ordinary four-year-old."

"That doesn't make it much better."

Anne stopped, and pulled a shirt off the rack. "What do you think? You like this?"

Kim considered it a moment, then said, "Not bad... but do they have it in pink?"

"You want to wear pink?" Anne said, surprised.

"Of course!" Kim said, puzzled. "I love pink!"

Anne rushed in and wrapped her arms around Kim in a crushing hug. "Oh, my Kimmie! It's so good to have you back!"

"Eep!"

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_The Past:_

"Don't let her leave until I've came by to pick her up," Mr. Pinkle told the teacher. "She'll disappear for days on end if a constant watch isn't kept on her..."

Meanwhile, Kim and Ron once again asked Shego, "Where were you?"

"I had to go rescue some people who were going to be hit by another comet like the one that hit me."

Kim asked, "How'd you know it was going to hit?"

Having thought about this ahead of time, Shego was able to answer without hesitation, "My powers allowed me to sense it."

Ron, asked, "So how did you rescue them?"

"Oh, I just made sure they wouldn't be where the comet is going to hit. Of course, the comet hasn't actually hit yet, so I won't know for sure it worked until it does. I hope it works, though."

Kim agreed, "Me too."

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_The Present:_

"You sure you'll be all right home alone?" Anne asked Mini-Kim as she prepared to go to work.

"Mom! I'm sixteen years old! I can take care of myself!"

"I'm sorry dear, it's just so easy to forget."

In a more patient voice, Kim said, "Mom, I'll be fine. Now go to work."

"Alright, Kimmie. I'll be home at five. Love you."

"Love you too, Mom."

When her mom had left, Kim wandered around the house, to see if anything outside of her room was different from what she remembered. There were a few things that she wondered if that was how they had been in her time-line, but nothing obviously out-of-place. Bored, she headed back to the living room, and turned on the TV.

Everything seemed the same on TV, too, until she flipped to a report on crime in the big cities.

The reporter said, "I'm here in Go City to talk to Chief of Police Hector Gonzales about what his department is doing about the rising crime rate."

When the camera turned to the Chief, Kim was astonished. "Hego?!"

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_The Past:_

When the Gonzales family heard that their house had burned down, they were devastated. Their insurance would cover some of what they'd paid on the house, but it wouldn't be enough to buy a new one. And while they searched for a new house in Go City, where would they live? Grandma graciously offered her house, but they hated to impose.

When they received the packages sent from their house with their most precious and treasured belongings, they were overjoyed, but puzzled. Who had sent it, and why? It almost seemed as if the person had known the house would burn down – and indeed, the cryptic letter in one of the boxes, saying, "You'll thank me for this later," seemed to suggest it had been the arsonist him or herself. And yet, why would an arsonist go through the trouble?

A few days after they would have returned home if they'd had one to go home to, they came to agree with the letter, when a fragment of a passing comet struck the remains of their house, reducing it and much of the yard to a crater.

Only Clarice had any idea who their mysterious arsonist / savior could have been, but the answer was incredible. She couldn't really bring herself to believe it. And yet, that night, she gave her daughter an extra hug.

"Thank you," Clarice said.

"For what?"

Clarice only smiled and said, "I love you, Sheila."

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_The Present:_

Shego, teen-Kim, and Ron came in around four, laughing at some joke Mini-Kim hadn't heard.

Shego said, "Move over, squirt," and plopped down on the couch next to Mini-Kim. Teen-Kim and Ron joined them a moment later, even as Shego stole the remote and flipped it to a channel showing a martial-arts competition.

The announcer was just saying, "--And, defending her title, World Martial Arts Champion, Sheila Gonzales!" The camera showed a woman in a white gi playing to the crowd.

Mini-Kim stared in shock. "Sheila"'s skin was a light bronze, but still there was no doubt this was the woman Kim had been fighting for the past year or so. "Shego?!"

The Shego sitting next to Mini-Kim smiled. "Yes?"

Mini-Kim paused a moment, then said, "That **is** you, isn't it?"

"Yup. My other self, anyway. I've never met her, but I hear she's a bit of a goody-two-shoes. You'd like her. No arrests, no charges, pays her taxes and her bills... heck I don't think she's even shoplifted since she and her family barely escaped being hit by the comet when it hit Go City. I guess that sort of thing makes you re-evaluate your life... She's still a top-notch martial artist, though, as you may have noticed."

Mini-Kim stared at the screen, even as they moved on to the preliminary matches.

"_Maybe,"_ she thought, _"this time-line has its' good points after all..."_

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Next: Return of the Three Stooges!


	4. Fighting For the Other Side

**Author's Notes (Foreword): **For those who read the story back when I was initially posting it, I have made some revisions to the first three chapters since they were posted. Most of the revisions were minor (spelling/grammar corrections and the like) but there were a few significant ones (all made in or prior to July of 2008):

First of all, I changed my name for the Kim of the original timeline from "Chibi-Kim" to "Mini-Kim". Frankly, I have a pet-peeve against the use of unnecessary Japanese in English stories; it took Rinacat complaining about my use of the term "Chibi" at KP Slash Haven (pre-crash) for me to realize I was doing it myself.

Secondly, I modified the Introduction for improved Temporal Mechanics (in response to someone's pointing out a flaw in my original version; unfortunately I didn't keep track of who that was).

Finally, I added an Epilogue to Chapter One which ties in with upcoming events.

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_Monday:_

Shego and Ron stayed for supper that night. As everyone sat around the table eating, the subject of Mini-Kim and teen-Kim sharing the same name came up.

"They need their own names," Jim said. Tim added, "Otherwise no-one will know who we're talking about when we say 'Kim'."

Mr. Possible nodded thoughtfully. "You two have a point."

Ron piped up. "I still think we should call her Chibi-Kim."

Mini-Kim scowled and said, "I don't think so."

Mrs. Possible said, "Perhaps one of you could go by the name Kim, and the other by your full name, Kimberly?"

Mini-Kim said uncertainly, "I don't know... I haven't gone by the name Kimberly in years..."

Teen-Kim said, "Me neither. And I intend to keep it that way. Besides, as the 'Kim' everyone knows, it just makes sense for me to keep that name."

Mr. Possible nodded again. "Kimmie-cub – er, that is, 'Kim" - has a point."

Jim said, "We could call the new Kim 'Nano-Kim'." Tim added, "Or 'Pico-Kim'!"

Mini-Kim stared at them blankly until Mr. Possible supplied, "Words for small."

Mini-Kim said a quiet, "Oh," then scowled. "I don't want a name that has to do with my being small!"

Ron said, "We could call her by her middle name..."

Mini-Kim shook her head. "No way. I would think everyone was talking about my mom!"

Mr. Possible turned to Shego. "Shego, you haven't said anything on the matter, yet."

Shego shrugged. "What do I care what you guys call her? No matter what you decide, I'll still refer to both of them by whatever nickname comes to mind."

After further discussion, and an increasingly absurd series of name by Ron, Jim, Tim, and Mr. Possible, Mini-Kim finally decided to just go with "Kimberly." "It's the only halfway-decent suggestion I've heard tonight."

Mr. Possible smiled. "Kimberly it is, then. Of course, to me, you'll both always be my Kimmie-cubs!"

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**Sitch Four:**

**Fighting For the Other Side**

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_Five years ago:_

A red portal opened, and Monkey Fist, Duff Killagain, and Doctor Drakken stepped out.

As the portal closed, Monkey Fist asked, "Where are we, Drakken?"

Killagain commented, "It reeks of Middleton."

Drakken answered, "Indeed. The Middleton of the not-so-distant past. To be precise, the day Kim Possible dot com went online."

_..._Nearby, in the Possible residence, Shego was lounging on Kim's bed, while Kim was was working on her computer and chatting on the phone with Ron.

With a wide grin that showed off her braces, Kim said excitedly over the phone, "It's so cool that we both got new computers!"

In his room, Ron looked at the black-and-white monitor of his computer, and complained, "Yours is new?! I got stuck with my dad's old one!"

"Ooh, sorry. You're still better off than Shego, though - she doesn't have a computer at all."

Shego said, "I could get one too, if I wanted one."

Kim looked over her shoulder and shot back, "Yeah, well, I think your latest foster parents – who were they again?"

"The Finkleys."

"Right. I think the Finkleys would notice if a new computer suddenly appeared in your room. They might ask where it came from, how you paid for it... It's not like a new shirt or jacket."

Ron said, "She could keep it in my room."

Kim asked, "You'd want a stolen computer?"

"On second thought, no. My parents are strictly against breaking the law – not to mention the Ten Commandments."

Kim said to Shego, "You know, you can always come over and use either my computer or Ron's."

Shego said sarcastically, "Really? I'm shocked!"

"Hey, no need for sass! It's not our fault the Finkleys don't have a lot of money!"

"If I were living on my own, this wouldn't be a problem."

"To live on your own at our age you'd need to steal just to survive."

"So?"

"So?! For one thing, you'd have to hide from the law – which would kind of make it hard to hang out with Ron and me. And if you got caught, you'd be in major trouble."

"Hey, I'm a minor. They can't really **do** anything to me. Besides, I wouldn't get caught."

"They can't send you to jail, you mean. But they could keep you under such tight watch you might as well be in jail."

Ron added, "Hey, never mind jail. There's a far better reason neither of you should be stealing."

Recognizing an old argument, Kim rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. But I don't think the fear of Hell is going to keep Shego on the right side of the law."

Shego commented, "Well, d'oy! I don't know if the big guy really exists, but either way, I don't respond well to threats."

Ron asked, "And what about you?"

Exasperated, Kim said, "It was only a candy-bar!" Her voice sounding a little uncertain, she added, "It's not like it hurt anyone..."

After the silence had dragged on a little, Shego commented, "Awkward moment."

Meanwhile, Ron sighed, and said, "Hey, I'm not trying to lecture you. I'm just sayin' you should think about the future a bit."

Kim sighed again, then said with a weak smile, "That's okay. As my conscience, you're entitled to be a little harsh on me from time to time, right?"

Shego asked, "So what does that make me? The little devil on your shoulder?"

Changing the subject, Kim asked, "So, Ron, can you get online?

Ron answered, "Uh-huh. I'm researching hairless pets."

Kim said sympathetically, "Your dad's allergies, huh?"

"My parents finally said I could get a pet! But no fur. And you'd be surprised how many mammals have fur."

Kim volunteered, "I'm making my own website."

"What for?"

"Aw, baby-sitting jobs and stuff. You know, helping people out."

Shego said in a sarcastic tone that masked the prophetic nature of her comment, "That's how it all starts out. But before you know it, you'll be saving the world."

Ron asked, "How about a hairless cat?"

Kim answered, "Way too freaky." She then instructed him, "Okay, type in 'kimpossible dot com'."

Ron did so, and waited while his computer slowly loaded the page. "'Loading'... 'Kim Possible. She can do anything.' You know, it sounds a little braggy."

"It's like a commercial, Ron! It's supposed to be braggy!"

Shego pulled out her nail-file and started filing her nails. "Face it Kimmy, modesty just isn't your strong suit. ...False modesty, on the other hand..."

...Meanwhile, outside, Drakken, Monkey Fist, and Killagain were plotting...

Monkey Fist asked, "So, what is your plan, Drakken? Do enlighten us."

Drakken answered, "When young Kim Possible goes on her first mission, we'll make sure she fails. This time her spirit will be crushed!"

Drakken's companions were not impressed.

Killagain complained, "Ah, we tried crushing her spirit. Can we nah simply crush her?"

Fist said, "I'm with the mad golfer on this one."

Drakken pulled out his Juvenator and changed himself into a blue-skinned, bespectacled pre-teen boy. Again, he had a skull logo on his shirt. Desperately, he said, "No, no, listen! We'll infiltrate her life as fellow pre-teens. This time of life is full of stress, so she'll be easy prey. The failure of her mission will be the last straw, convincing her to stick to baby-sitting!"

Killagain said uncertainly, "I must admit this plan isn'ah half bad – but we still need a backup!"

Monkey Fist rubbed his palms. "Leave that to me. I have something in mind that would be exactly what we need."

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_The Present (Tuesday Morning):_

"So, Kimberly," Mr. Possible said as he, Mrs. Possible, and Kimberly sat around the kitchen table Tuesday morning, "have you thought about getting back into school?"

Kimberly looked a bit uncertain. "Well, I was kind of hoping I could be returned to my proper age first..."

Mrs. Possible pointed out, "Dear, I'm not saying you should give up hope on being returned to a teenager, but your Drakken's trail is cold. As I said before, it might be a while before Wade can find any leads... Do you really want to miss weeks or months of school because you were too embarrassed to go looking like a four-year old?"

"Well..." Kimberly blushed. She really hadn't thought about the possibility it could be months before she was cured; but the thought of going into High School looking like she did was quite embarrassing.

Mr. Possible raised the option, "She could always go into Pre-School for now. She wouldn't be learning anything new, but at least she'd fit in."

Kimberly continued to blush. "That would be kind of embarrassing too... And what would be the point?"

"Well, we wouldn't have to try and explain having a girl who looks like a four-year-old hanging around the house unsupervised."

Mrs. Possible said, "Really, dear. We should be thinking about her needs, not ours."

Mr. Possible shrugged. "Well, if she's been anywhere near as busy with missions as Kim has, it might be fun for her to relax as a child for a while. Call it a vacation."

Kimberly shook her head. "I don't want to waste that much time. I'm only a couple of years away from graduating High School, I don't want to have to start school all over again. Besides, it's not like it's totally unheard of for real kids to be way ahead of their peers. Look at Wade – he's still in his pre-teens, and he already has several college degrees! ...Or at least, I assume he does, I know mine did..."

Mr. Possible said, "It was just an idea. Actually, I agree with you and your mother – if you can handle it, continuing your education at the High School level would be best. The important thing is that you make a decision soon, and we start making steps towards it."

While Kimberly thought about it, Mrs. Possible added, "There's a lot of pressure to conform in High School, and so long as you have a four-year-old body you won't fit in. While I would like you to try going back to High School, if you wanted to follow your father's idea instead, we wouldn't fault you for it."

It didn't take too long for Kimberly to come to a decision. "Even if I don't get returned to my proper age soon, I still would like to try going back to High School. Not only is there the whole 'continuing my education' thing, but no matter what I look like, I still think of myself as a teenager; I just wouldn't be comfortable in preschool."

Mr. Possible nodded, and Mrs. Possible said, "Alright then. We'll talk with the school officials as soon as possible and see what we can do about getting you into Middleton High."

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_The Past:_

"Cheer tryouts?!" Shego scoffed as she, Kim, and Ron walked through the school halls. "You're going to spend all your time rooting someone else on? Come on, you can do better than that!"

"I... suppose you're right," Kim said reluctantly, "but what else am I supposed to do? I want a sport that's... acrobatic."

Ron said, "Ooh, you could be an acrobat in the circus!"

Kim said sourly, "That's not what I meant."

Shego shrugged. "Try gymnastics, maybe? And don't forget your martial arts!"

"How could I forget? I've yet to beat you after all! I will one day, though!"

Ron nodded. "Me too! No one is invincible!"

Shego smiled indulgently. "Keep dreaming."

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_The Present (Tuesday Afternoon):_

Kimberly was performing a kata in the backyard when Shego's voice interrupted her.

"You do know you'll never beat me in that body, right?"

Kimberly stopped her kata and wiped some sweat away from her forehead. "Don't you have somewhere better to be, Shego?"

"Well, there is this island I like, but my Kimmie would get jealous if I went there without her, and she wouldn't want to miss school tomorrow without a good excuse."

"**Your** Kimmie?" Kimberly asked.

Shego gave a smirk. "That's right. You may be the Kim from my original timeline, but don't think that gives you more of a connection to me than she has. You and I only knew each other as enemies for a year or so; Kimmie and I have known each other as friends for twelve years." Her smile turned sly. "...And now, we're even closer than that..."

Kimberly gave her a puzzled look. "Closer than friends..? What, you mean like best friends? Or Soulmates?"

Shego raised an eyebrow, and her smirk widened into a sly grin. "Something like that." She chuckled and walked back into the house.

"_That was weird,_" Kimberly thought as she went back to her kata. _"It almost seemed like she was suggesting she and Kim were... Nah, couldn't be."_

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_The Past:_

"Hey, brace-face! Going to try out for cheerleading? I bet you fall on your back!" a voice called out as Kim walked down the school hallway.

Kim turned and scowled at the blue-skinned, glasses-wearing boy who said that, and his kilt-wearing companion. "As a matter of fact, I'm going to be trying out for gymnastics, not cheerleading. And you're one to be calling people names, four-eyed blue-boy."

Drakken complained, "Hey, careful with the name calling! You could hurt someone's feelings!"

"Well, maybe you should have thought of that before you started it!"

Killagain said in confusion, "Ach, I don'a remember her havin' such an attitude before..."

Just then, another voice called out across the hall, "Hey, Kimmie, if we don't hurry we'll be late for class! ...Not that I care..."

Drakken and Killagain turned and stared at the black haired pre-teen coming down the hall. "Shego...?!"

Shego stopped in her tracks and turned to them, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "Well, well, if it isn't two of the three stooges..."

Kim asked, "You mean, these are those guys that abandoned you and were bugging me and Ron back in Pre-K?!"

Shego nodded. "Not that many people around with blue skin... And kilts aren't all that common in America, either, for that matter. I'm surprised they'd show their faces around here again, though, after being beaten so badly by you back then. I guess some people never learn, huh?"

Drakken demanded, "Shego, what are you doing here?!"

Shego said, a bored expression on her face as she examined her fingernails, "Well, certainly not learning anything."

"Never mind that. This is perfect! Help Killagain and I make fun of Kim Possible!"

Shego stared at him incredulously. "Don't tell me you're still attempting that lame plan?! And if you think I'm going to follow your orders after you abandoned me in the past..." Shego scowled and began to advance on him.

Kim blinked at the comment, especially the odd phrasing at the end.

"Now, now, Shego! We would have came back for you eventually!" Drakken said as he and Killagain fearfully backed away from Shego's menacing figure.

"Oh really? Then why is it this is the first time I've seen you in seven years? With the Tempus Simia it should have been easy to arrive shortly after you left."

Kim stared at her. "What are you talking about?"

Shego winced, realizing what she'd just revealed to Kim. "Later. I have a score to settle."

Drakken gulped. "I – I really don't know Shego. If you want though, Killagain and I can go get you from the past as soon as Monkey Fist gets back with the Tempus Simia..."

Shego couldn't believe her ears. "You let him go alone with it?! What's to stop him from leaving you here and now, and keeping the Tempus Simia for himself?!"

"Um... Villains honor...?"

Shego slapped her forehead. Regaining her composure, she said, "Look, I've put a lot of work into this timeline, and I think it's actually turned out better than the first... So, even if Monkey-Feet doesn't betray you, I'd have to say no."

"So you'll forgive us and help us fight Kim Possible?" Drakken said hopefully.

Shego gave an evil grin, and curled her fingers into claws. "In a word... no."

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_The Present (Wednesday):_

"I wouldn't care if she was a super-genius from the future! She still needs to take a placement test!" Steve Barkin told Kimberly and her parents.

Mr. Dr. Possible sighed. "Alright then. When can she take it?"

Barkin got out his schedule and leafed through it. "How does tomorrow at Two sound?"

Mr. Dr. Possible looked at his wife. "You have work then, don't you?"

Mrs. Dr. Possible nodded. "I have work most of the day both tomorrow and Friday." She turned to Barkin. "Perhaps something after five or on the weekend?"

Barkin started looking at his schedule.

Kimberly spoke up. "I could come by on my own. Remember, I'm not as young as I look."

Mr. and Mrs. Possible looked at each other once again, then back at Kimberly. Mrs. Possible said, "We know, honey, but even that appearance could put you at risk. People would be more likely to try to take advantage of a young child than a teenager."

Barkin looked up from his schedule. "How does this Saturday at One sound?"

Mrs. Possible nodded. "That will work."

"Very well. I'll see you then."

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_The Past:_

Kim watched with an amused smirk on her face as Shego chased Drakken and Killagain down the halls. Deciding Shego could handle this herself, Kim headed off to class.

Moments later, Drakken, Killagain, and Shego skidded to a stop as Barkin stepped into the middle of the hall in front of them. "No shouting, running in the halls, or threatening to disembowel other students."

Shego said sourly, "Da--"

"Language!"

Shego shut her mouth.

Barkin's eyes narrowed as he examined Drakken and Killagain. "I don't recognize you two, and I haven't heard anything about new students. Who are you two, and what are you doing here?"

Drakken and Killagain glanced at each other. "Er..."

"All right, you three are coming with me."

Killagain pulled out a tee, golf ball, and golf club. As he quickly set up the tee and ball, he said, "I don't think so, laddie!"

Barkin barked, "No playing sports in the halls!"

As Killagain began to swing his club at an angle that would send the ball straight at Barkin's chest, Shego said, "No you don't!" and tackled Killagain. The club still hit the ball, but the ball went off at a wild angle and blew up as it impacted against a wall.

Barkin shielded his face from the blast with his arm, then he rolled up his sleeves. "Enough of this!" He marched up to Killagain and Shego, and picked Killagain up by the back of his neck. "Seeing as your actions protected me from that explosive golf ball, I'll overlook the fact that you were fighting, Miss Go, but I'll take it from here."

Shego opened her mouth to protest, then thought better of it. "Be my guest." She looked around, and asked, "Hey, where'd blue-boy get to?"

Killagain's eyes widened. "Ach! The traitor abandoned me!"

Shego crossed her arms. "What a surprise."

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_The Present (Thursday Evening):_

As everyone headed their separate ways after dinner Thursday night, Kimberly overheard Kim mention to their parents, "By the way, Shego and I are going out tomorrow night."

Mrs. Possible sighed. "You could have told us earlier, you know."

"Shego just asked earlier today. She tends to be impulsive, you know."

"Oh. Well, alright then. Just don't stay out too late. Unless a mission comes up I want you back by midnight."

Kim nodded.

Mr. Possible added, "And remember, no boys!"

Kim rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dad."

Kimberly's eyes followed Kim as she headed up to her room. _"They're 'going out' on a Friday night...?" _She shook her head in denial. _"Stop it 'Kimberly', you're imagining things. I mean, even if they're close friends in this timeline, it's not like Kim could be a lesbian – she's basically you, and you're not one!" _Of course, Kimberly knew not everyone fit neatly into the categories "gay" and "straight", but Kimberly was pretty sure she would know if she was bi-sexual, wouldn't she?

As Kimberly headed to her room (formerly the Guest Room), she wondered why the idea of Kim and Shego together bothered her so much. She certainly didn't have a problem with the idea of homosexuality in general. She supposed it was because any question about Kim's sexual orientation was one about Kimberly's as well – that and the fact that Kimberly still didn't trust Shego...

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_The Past:_

Kim was waiting in the school lobby for Shego to get out of detention, when Ron came running in, saying, "Kim, you got a hit on the site! A major hit!"

Kim said skeptically, "Baby sitting the turner twins again?"

"No, danger-major!"

"Danger?"

Shego stepped into the room. "Well, I'm sold. When do we leave?"

Kim said, "It'd be nice to know what we're getting ourselves into first, for one thing."

"Bah."

"But before that... I think you have some explaining to do."

Ron blinked. "What do you mean, KP?"

"Remember those three kids that were teasing us in Pre-K, the ones Shego said abandoned her?"

"Yeah... what about them?"

"Two of them showed up today... and Shego let slip some really strange things about a 'Tempus Simia'..." She scowled at Shego, and said, "Care to explain?"

Shego sighed and sat down. "I knew I'd have to tell you everything one of these days..."

_...Meanwhile..._

In an alley near the Middleton Police Department Headquarters, Killagain told Drakken (both of them still in their teenage forms), "Thanks for helpin' me get free."

"Think nothing of it. We're partners, after all!"

"And ye needed my help to carry out your plans. aye?"

"Well, there is that..."

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_The Present (Friday Evening):_

Kimberly had half-expected Shego to turn up in a tuxedo or skimpy dress; instead, the former villainess was dressed in tight black jeans and low-necked green blouse.

Before anyone had a chance to go up and get Kim, the teen rushed down the stairs. Kimberly couldn't help but stare a bit at the outfit – a tight-fitting black blouse, a light-brown jean skirt, and brown work boots. While far from formal, it was far enough from her ordinary attire that it obviously had been specifically chosen for the night.

"_I'm just glad she isn't wearing that little black dress I wore that time I was affected by the moodulator,_" Kimberly thought to herself.

"I'm ready, let's go," Kim said to Shego by way of greeting.

"Gotcha." Shego started to turn to the door, but just then Jim and Tim rushed into the room. Seeing the two teenage girls, Tim asked, "So you two going on a date?"

Kim said angrily, "I've told you before, we're not dating! We just like to hang out together!"

Jim said, "Riiight." The two boys glanced at each other, then started singing, "Kim and Shego, sitting in a tree, K-I-"

Shego interrupted them by lighting up one of her hands. "Jim and Tim, lying in a grave. D-E-A-D."

"Eep!" both boys cried, and ran out of the room.

Mrs. Possible stepped in from the kitchen. "Please don't threaten my boys, Shego."

"You know I wasn't serious, Mrs. Possible. Besides, they have to learn not to joke about that sort of thing. Do you know how much business we'd loose if people thought we were lesbians?"

Kim added, "Yeah, and I'd hate to not be able to save people because they or their government were acting like bigots..."

Mrs. Possible sighed. "I'll talk to them again. You do know their teasing has nothing to do with your gender, Shego, right? They'd act the same if you were a boy."

Shego shrugged. "I don't care what they say at home. I just don't want them spreading rumors."

Mrs. Possible nodded. "I'll make sure they understand that. Now you two go and have fun."

Kim nodded. "Kay. Bye Mom!" The two then headed out.

By this point Kimberly was even more confused about the two teens than ever. Finally deciding that some answers were worth a little embarrassment, she turned to her mother. "Mom?"

Mrs. Possible looked down at her. "Yes, dear?"

"The way you and Shego were talking, it almost sounded like... She and Kim aren't a couple, are they?"

Mrs. Possible said thoughtfully, "I don't know. They're certainly quite close, but if there's anything more to their relationship than friendship, I can't say. What do **you** think?"

Kimberly hesitated. "Well... I know Kim isn't as lesbian, because I'm not, and I know sexual orientation is decided before birth... I've never had a crush on a girl before either... But there's just something about the way those two interact... Plus Shego kinda implied that they were a couple the other day, but that could have just been the normal mind-games she likes to play with me."

Mrs. Possible looked mildly surprised. "That's not like her to risk Team Possible's reputation like that... I suppose she must act differently with you since she knew you before the timeline was altered..."

"I guess so."

Mrs. Possible then asked curiously, "So, you've dated and had crushes on boys before?"

Nervously (and with a bit of embarrassment), she answered, "Yes...?"

"Anyone I might know?"

"Well... I used to have a major crush on the Oh Boys... And I've dated Josh Mankey once or twice."

"Mankey? Where have I heard that name before...? Oh, yes, he was the boy that went Trick-Or-Treating with Ron this past Halloween."

"He did that in this timeline too?"

"Yes. Ron would have gone with Kim and Shego, but those two insisted on sneaking out to a Halloween Party – without the permission of your Dad and I, I might add."

Kimberly laughed nervously. "Imagine that!"

"Anyway, I suppose it's not very politically correct to say so, but it's nice to know you and Kim aren't lesbians. Not that there's anything wrong with lesbianism, per say, it's just that I'd prefer my daughters not have to face the prejudice homosexuals do... Also, I can't help but having dreams of you two growing up, marrying some nice guy, and having lots of kids; and if you're straight or bisexual that's at least a possibility."

Kimberly blushed. "Yeah, well, that's what I've always pictured myself."

"I'm glad to hear it. However, if you ever should find yourself attracted to a woman, please feel free to come to me about it. I promise I won't judge."

"Uh, I really don't see that happening, but thanks all the same."

"And as for Kim and Shego, try not to worry about it too much, dear. Shego isn't the same person you knew, and while Kim has made her share of mistakes, I think when it comes to love she'll make the right choice in the end. Try to have faith in her."

"I'll try...."

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_The Past:_

"I can't believe you lied to us like that!" Kim said angrily after Shego finished her story.

"I can't believe you're thirty years old!" Ron added. Kim shot him an annoyed glare, to which he responded with a sheepish smile.

Shego said, "Look, you really think I should have told all of this to you two when you were only four years old?! And you've probably forgotten, but I did mention back then that Drakken and I had been trying to conquer the world – you just thought we had been playing."

Kim said angrily, "It's not that – of course you couldn't tell us everything when we were that young! But to not even mention you had been sent to interfere with my life? And you could have told us the truth before now."

Shego rolled her eyes. "Right, 'cause we're all grown ups now."

"Grown up enough for this!"

"Okay, maybe you are, at that. Sorry. I guess it just never occurred to me that I could tell you now."

Ron spoke up. "So, Kim and I are going to be heroes one day?"

"Thats' right. In fact, from what I recall, your first mission should be pretty soon..."

"Like today, maybe?" Ron held up the printout of the e-mail Kim's site had received.

Kim scowled. "Can't this wait, Ron?"

Ron said seriously, "No, I don't think it can."

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Next: Action and introspection.

**Author's Notes (After word):** Late? Not at all! I just decided to post this chapter in "the future" rather than the "present"...

In all seriousness, this fic had the bad luck of not being finished when (a) I practically stopped writing for over a year (Fall 2006 – Spring 2008), and then (b) I lost much of my interest in Kim Possible. Even so, I could have posted this chapter months ago – I had it mostly written as of last July; unfortunately I was under the impression it needed far more extensive revision than it turned out to need, so I kept procrastinating on those revisions. Luckily, I was able to use the inspiration I had intended to use to finish this chapter to finish the next one too!

Oh, and before anyone asks, I have deliberately left the question open regarding the nature of the relationship between Shego and teen Kim; I leave it to each reader to decide for themselves the answer to that question.


	5. Questions of Maturity

_The Present (Saturday Afternoon): _

Kimberly handed Barkin the last of her tests. A few had been rather challenging, but most of it had been things she remembered from her classes over the previous years.

Barkin told her, "We'll contact your parents with the official results in a few days, but so far it looks pretty good. If I didn't know your origin, I'd think you were some sort of child prodigy..."

"I'm still surprised you believed me and my parents so easily."

"The Doctors Posssible are not known for lying; and I've become used to unusual things occurring around Kim Possible..."

"Oh, come on. Only a few strange things have happened to me."

When Barkin just raised an eyebrow at her, she added, "That I didn't walk into by fighting some super-villain, anyway..."

"Indeed. At any rate, I assume it would have been the same in your original timeline, but don't expect preferential treatment because you're a hero – or a child – and if you go off on any missions to save the world, be prepared to make up any work you miss."

"Of course."

"All right then, that'll be all."

"Okay. I'll see you later, I guess." Kimberly headed out of the classroom to meet with her father.

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**Sitch Five:**

**Questions of Maturity**

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_The Past:_

A van drove up to Paisley manor.

Inside the van, Kim said, "Thanks, Mrs. Mahoney, for driving us all the way to Upperton."

Mrs. Mahoney said, "It's the least I can do since you saved Cabby from that tree."

Kim shrugged, and said, "No big," as she, Ron, and Shego got out. "See ya."

As the van drove off, Kim glanced at Shego. "Remind me again why you're here?"

"Because I'm an adrenaline junkie?"

Ron said, "Because the three of us are team – even if she has been keeping some stuff from us. Not to mention the fact that a former super-hero could come in really handy in a rescue mission!"

Kim said without any enthusiasm, "Right..."

Moments later, the three stood in front of the gate to the Paisley Estate.

Kim asked, "You sure this is the right place, Ron?"

Ron nodded. "Yep. Someone's trapped in there."

Kim said uncertainly, "I don't know. This sounds like something the police should handle."

Shego rolled her eyes. "The police handle something like this? You've got to be kidding me."

Ron said, "Truth in advertising. Your website says you can do anything."

Kim commented, "**Now** it sounds braggy. …okay, first step – get inside."

Ron bubbled with excitement. "Hey, I've got a little something that might help."

He pulled a pink blob of flesh from his pocket.

Kim recoiled. "What is... that?"

Ron said gleefully, "A naked mole rat! I just got 'im yesterday at Smarty-Mart."

Shego said, "Eesh! They're even uglier when they're young."

Kim wondered, "A naked mole rat?"

Ron, not noticing the rather dismal reviews his pet was receiving, continued, "I named him Rufus. Ain't' he cute? .. say, Rufus, buddy, you think you can open these gates?"

Rufus nodded and, when Ron put him up to the gate's control panel, climbed inside.

Ron commented, "Naked mole rats – pets of the future."

Shego said, "Yeah... Hate to break it to you, but as someone who's seen the future, I have to tell you they ain't gonna be catching on anytime soon."

A shower of nuts, bolts, and other parts fell out of the control panel, followed by Rufus, and the gate opened.

Kim commented, "A naked mole rat – gross, but handy."

Ron asked, "Wanna hold 'im?"

Kim said with a shudder, "Pass."

Shego said, "I'll hold him."

Kim gave her a funny look as Ron handed Rufus to Shego.

Shego looked Rufus over, and said quietly, "Hey, little guy. Sorry about calling you ugly – but let's face it, looks like yours require a bit of getting used to. Anyway, you have a lot of potential. How about you and I be friends?"

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_The Present (Sunday Morning):_

Kimberly sifted through the racks at Club Banana, looking for things in her size and style. To her disappointment, the selection of clothes her size wasn't very good.

"Club Banana isn't exactly known for it's kids' clothes," teen Kim pointed out.

Kimberly sighed. "I know. It's just, this is my favorite clothes store... I was really hoping they'd have **something **I liked for my size..."

"Face it, you're not in their target age range anymore. Why don't you give up, and we'll try some other stores."

Kimberly's eyes narrowed. "I'm not giving up until I've looked at everything they have!"

Kim rolled her eyes. "Am I this stubborn?"

Just then, a dark-skinned girl in a Club Banana uniform walked up. "Can I help you?"

Kimberly's eyes lit up. "Monique!"

Although she was wearing a name-tag, Monique didn't expect a girl as young as Kimberly appeared to be to be able to read. She glanced at Kim, then gave Kimberly a strange look. "Do I know you?"

Kim said, "No," while Kimberly said "Yes."

Kim said, "You go to Middleton High, don't you?"

Monique nodded.

"I thought I'd seen you there before. I'm Kim Possible."

Monique smiled. "I know. I've seen you on the news. I'm Monique." She glanced at Kimberly. "Babysitting?"

Kim shrugged. "Sort of." It was true, in a way. Kimberly had wanted to do some more shopping, but Mrs. Possible had been busy, so she had asked Kim to drive Kimberly to the mall and provide the appearance of a chaperon. Neither girl had been particularly happy with the arrangement.

Kimberly looked back and forth between the two of them. "Wait. You mean you two don't know each other?"

Monique gave her another strange look. "No. Should we?"

"Yes! In my timeline, you were my best friend after Ron!" Kimberly put her hands to her mouth. She hadn't meant say that out loud.

Kim laughed nervously. "She's watched a few too many episodes of 'Space Quest'", Kim "explained".

Kimberly crossed her arms and scowled, in a pout she was unaware looked rather cute. _"So maybe just blurting that out wasn't the best way to explain things to Monique. That doesn't mean my counterpart had to make me sound like I was playing pretend! And really, there's no reason we have to keep the Time-Travel and Juvinator a secret!_"

Kimberly sighed, and continued thinking. _"..It would have been hard enough building something similar to my old friendship with Monique if she was friends with my counterpart and knew who I was. If she thinks of me as both a stranger and a little kid..."_ Unbidden, tears began to form in her eyes.

Monique crouched down near Kimberly. "What's a matter, kid?"

"I..." Kimberly shook her head, knowing anything she said right now would come out sounding childish, and not wanting Monique's pity.

"It's alright. You can tell me."

Kimberly found she couldn't hold it in any longer. "I **wasn't **just pretending! And I want to be friends with you in this timeline too, but that won't work with me stuck as a kid! And... and I can't even find any clothes I like!" (The fact that she had found clothes that she liked at other stores when she was shopping with her mom the other day was irrelevant in her current mood.)

Both Kim and Kimberly were shocked by Kimberly's breakdown. The fact that Shego had found her emotions stronger and her self control weaker after having been in child form for a while had never came up before, so Kim didn't have a clue what was going on. Kimberly meanwhile had noticed that her reactions were not always the same as she expected, but had managed to brush it off as a result of being unsettled by the changes she was facing; only now was it beginning to occur to her it might be more than that.

"There, there," Monique said, comforting Kimberly. "So you come from another timeline, in which you and me were BFFL? Well, I don't know you enough to be your best friend in this timeline, but I don't mind being your friend. Would you like that?

Kimberly knew she was being humored, and hated it, but in her emotionally weakened state she couldn't help but latch on to the offer. Wiping away her tears, she nodded.

"My name is Monique... but then, you already knew that, didn't you...?" Monique's voice trailed off, as she realized that she still didn't know how the girl knew her name – and as she also realized that the girl's story of being from an alternate timeline, while strange, **would** explain that mystery. Putting the thought aside, she asked, "Anyway, what's your name?"

"Kim.... I mean, Kimberly."

Monique glanced up at Kim Possible, then back at the younger "Kimberly". Monique noted that in many ways Kimberly looked like a child-aged copy of Kim Possible. And Kimberly's talk of "timelines" implied time-travel or something similar... _"It's probably just a coincidence,_" Monique tried to tell herself.

Turning her attention back to Kimberly, "Well, Kimberly, I know this store like the back of my hand, so why don't you tell me what you're looking for and I'll see what I can do to help you..."

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_The Past:_

Kim, Ron, and Shego stopped at the end of the hall, looking out into the large room crisscrossed by glowing red lines. To avoid the beams, the salesman was balancing on one foot, while Mr. Paisley was standing on his head; neither could see the pre-teens standing in the hallway.

"What are those red things?" Ron asked.

Kim answered, "Lasers."

Shego rolled her eyes. "Duh."

Mr. Paisley, hearing the conversation, told them, "Yes. We would like to have those shut off. Please!"

The salesman said confidently, "Paisley, you can relax. Team Impossible can handle this."

Ron said uncertainly, "Uh... Yes, that's us!"

Shego rolled her eyes, while Ron elbowed Kim and whispered, "Good name... we could use that."

Kim spoke up so Mr. Paisley and the salesman could hear her easily. "Just tell me what I need to do!"

The Salesman answered, "Get that remote! But avoid the beams at all cost!"

"Um... Okay." Kim backed up a bit, then ran forward and jumped over the beams near the hallway. Landing in an open spot, she immediately jumped again, using acrobatic jumps and flips to make her way through the maze of beams. Finally she landed near the remote, and reaching between the beams with her leg, pushed the button with the toe of her shoe.

The lasers immediately shut off.

Mr. Paisley got to his feet, and the salesman put his foot down in relief. Looking at his savior, the salesman said in shock "A young girl?"

"Hey, I'm not that young!" Kim protested.

Ron and Shego walked over. Ron told him, "That'd be Kim Possible. She can do anything!" He put his hand on the salesman's shoulder, but the salesman immediately removed it. Undaunted, Ron continued, "Look us up online – we're world-wide, baby!"

...Meanwhile, in a room just off the room with the laser defense grid, the pre-teen Drakken and Killagain watched the goings on.

Drakken whined, "We missed our chance! Where is Monkey Fist?!"

Killagain complained, "He has the power of time-travel, and he's late!"

Just then, a red portal opened up, and the (fully adult) Monkey Fist stepped out. "Calm yourself, Killagain. I've returned, and I've brought a little piece of the past with me."

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_The Present (Sunday Afternoon):_

As Ron and Rufus dug into their Nacos, Kimberly said with a strange combination of relief and disgust, "It's nice to know some things haven't changed..."

Ron, Kim, Kimberly, and Shego were all sharing a booth at Bueno Nachos. Ron and Rufus each had a large plate of Nacos, while Kim and Shego had slightly more balanced meals (as balanced as a fast-food restaurant's fare can get, anyway).

Kimberly looked at her own meal and scowled. "I can't believe you got me a kid's meal, Kim!" she growled.

Kim shrugged, "Actually, Shego ordered it for you. Blame her."

Kimberly turned her scowl on Shego.

Shego smiled. "Hey, you're a kid again, you should enjoy it while it lasts."

"I don't want to be a kid!"

"Tough. I didn't want to be a kid, either, but neither of us had or have any choice. So you might as well learn to make the best of it."

Kimberly turned to her meal without answering and started eating, the scowl on her face making her look like a typical petulant child.

Shego focused on her own food for a minute or two, then she turned back to Kimberly. "Speaking of enjoying – or at least accepting – being a kid again, I really think you should reconsider this whole jumping back into high-school thing. So what if you have the grades for it? There's no way the other high-schoolers are going to accept an apparent four-year-old as their equal; and meanwhile you'll be missing out on the opportunity to have fun with kids your physical age, playing in ways adults are discouraged from doing."

Ron added, "I'm a bit jealous. Getting to act like a kid again sounds like a lot of fun."

Kim teased, "But you still act like a kid!"

Ron pouted. "Do not."

Ignoring their antics, Kimberly argued, "I don't want to have to go through years of school all over again... And have you thought about how boring going through the early grades again would be like? ...Heck, you don't have to think about it – you lived it!"

"Yeah, I did. And it wasn't as bad as I expected. You'd be surprised how much you've forgotten or missed the first time around..."

"It can't be enough to justify taking ten years out of your life to relearn it. And don't tell me you weren't still bored most of the time."

"Well, yeah, I guess I was... but that just gave me more time for goofing off."

"Some people prefer to spend their time productively." Kimberly countered.

Kim cut in. "Don't tell me, in addition to being a goody-goody, you're also a workaholic and an overachiever?"

"I'm not a workaholic!" Kimberly protested.

Shego raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you do for fun?"

"...Er... Well, I watch a little television, and I listen to music...." Kimberly failed to mention that in the old timeline she had precious little time for even those two forms of recreation between school, missions, cheer practice, and volunteering.

Ron asked (wanting to have some part in the conversation), "Really? What shows, and what music?"

"Well, a few daytime soaps (I used to tape them to watch after school)... And during their heyday, I was a big fan of the Oh Boyz..."

Kim buried her face in her hands. "_**Soaps? **_And the **Oh Boyz?!** Can you get any more stereotypical or shallow?"

"And this is better than you, still watching cartoons?" Kimberly shot back.

Kim scowled at her. "I'll have you know the Anime I watch these days is all made for teens and adults!"

Shego shook her head. "Anyway, as I was saying, you've got a once-in a lifetime opportunity here, one most people don't get. I just think you should give serious consideration to taking advantage of it."

Kimberly sighed. "Look, I've already discussed this with my parents, and taken the placement tests. I'll keep what you said in mind if things don't work out, but I really want to try this."

Shego shrugged. "Suit yourself."

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_The Past_

"Is that a Flamingoat?" Kim asked Mr. Paisley. "They're the rarest of cuddlebudies – they only made --"

Paisley and Kim said together, "Ten!"

Kim said, "This so blows my pandaroo out of the water. I never thought I'd even see one of these. My life is complete!"

Drakken stepped out. "Good. Then you won't mind if we end it!"

Shego assumed a fighting stance, and growled out, "Dr. D."

Cracks spread across the wall, and a stone golem burst through the wall, it's form that of a gorilla with glowing eyes and brandishing a stone sword.

Ron said in fear, "Giant monkey! Ahh! Sick & wrong!" and started running around mindlessly. Shego slapped her forehead.

The security salesman said, "Mr. Paisley, I think we should be going."

Monkey Fist called out, "Kim Possible, meet the stone guardian of Setsuma… or, should I say, 'Meet... your doom!'" He gave a monkey laugh at his joke.

As she dodged the Gorilla's sword, Kim said, "So let me guess – you're here to kill me because of all the times I beat you in what is my future and your past."

Drakken's jaw dropped. "How did you know that?"

"After Shego told us about her past, it wasn't hard to figure out."

Shego leaped at the gorilla, sending blasts of plasma ahead of her. "Hey, tall-dark-and-stony! Try picking on someone who can fight back!" The blasts didn't seem to particularly damage the gorilla, but they did get its' attention. Shego followed the blasts up with a couple of plasma-enhanced punches that left small cracks in the giant stone golem's chest. The gorilla golem then slapped Shego away with its' free hand, but Shego rolled in the air and landed on her feet.

Monkey Fist growled out, "Shego, you traitor! You're supposed to be helping us kill Kim Possible – not defending her!"

Drakken explained, "She was a little angry we left her behind in the past."

Monkey Fist shook his head. "That's the trouble with hired help. They just don't understand that the needs of the leader outweigh the needs of the follower. That's why I prefer the company of my Monkey Ninjas."

While the gorilla was distracted by Shego, Kim darted in and kicked at it. "Ow!" She complained as she backed away. "Okay, kicking a statue was not the brightest of ideas..."

Killagain placed a golf-ball on the ground, and took aim at it with his golf-club. "It be one thing if ye just quit on us, Shego... But interferin' in our plans? Fer that ye got ta be punished!" He swung, sending the ball Shego's way. Alerted by Killagain's monologue, Shego noticed the ball in time to dodge out of the way of the explosion.

While the Stone Guardian of Setsuma returned to swinging its' sword at Kim, Shego was forced to dodge a series of Killagain's exploding golf-balls. Meanwhile, Ron continued to run around in terror.

Realizing Kim couldn't do anything on her own to damage the stone gorilla, Shego made her way towards the giant as she dodged, eventually tricking Killagain into sending several golf-balls towards the giant. When Shego dodged out of the way yet again, the balls exploded against the giant's back, making several larges cracks in it and causing the giant to stumble.

The giant turned and scowled at Killagain.

Monkey Fist screeched at Killagain, "Watch where you're aiming, you idiot!"

"Shut ye trap, ye mangy mongrel!" Killagain said angrily, swinging his club at Monkey Fist, who leaped back out of the way.

"How **dare **you?!" Monkey Fist demanded, stepping forward inside Killagain's swing and punching him in the eye.

As Killagain and Monkey Fist brawled, Drakken said quietly, almost afraid to be heard, "Um, guys? Shouldn't we be focused on Possible, Shego, and the Buffoon?"

Meanwhile, Kim took advantage of the gorilla's distraction to catch her breath. With the gorilla looking away and not doing anything, even Ron calmed down enough to stop running around aimlessly.

Kim called out to her companions, "We need a strategy!"

Shego charged up her fists, taking her glow to a more intense level than she usually did when facing people. "How about this one? We hit the statue as hard as we can until it falls!" She ran around behind the gorilla and fired her blasts into the cracks in its' back. The giant shuddered, then swung around and brought its' sword down where Shego had been standing. Shego leaped out of the way, then tried to run around behind the giant. However, the Guardian turned with her, continuing to attack.

Hoping to distract it, Kim darted in and leaped up, kicking the gorilla in the chest where Shego had punched it earlier. Her attack didn't cause any visible damage, but she did get the Guardian's attention. Reminded of it's primary target, the Guardian returned to attacking Kim – which gave Shego time to get behind the Guardian again.

Shego leaped onto the Guardian's back and began pounding the cracks with her plasma-enshrouded fists. Slowly the cracks began to widen. The Guardian spared enough attention to her to swat at her with it's free hand, but Shego just threw herself off its' back, tossing several more volleys of plasma into the cracks even before she landed. The Guardian stumbled and fell to one knee.

Meanwhile, Ron was focusing on anything but the giant monkey. Spotting the three villains, he considered trying to capture them or something; but abandoned that idea when he realized the level Killlagain and Monkey Fist were fighting each other at was far beyond what he'd been able to pick up from his lessons with Kim and Shego.

As his eyes continued to wander, Ron spotted the remote for the laser array. _"Gee, it's kinda dangerous to leave that lying around. Someone could accidentally turn it back on. ...Wait a minute..._" Ron dashed over to the remote, and picked it up. He then stepped over to a spot he thought he remembered being safe, and called out, "Kim, Shego, duck!"

Kim and Shego glanced at him in time to see him press the button on the remote.

Kim and Shego looked around themselves as quickly as possible as the lasers started to form, and leaped to safe locations. Ron discovered he hadn't quite judged the safe-spot correctly, but luckily the only casualty was his pants (and his pride). The Guardian wasn't fast enough or small enough to do the same even if it had understood what was going on. Within moments the lasers had carved so many holes in it its' hide resembled Swiss Cheese.

As the remains of Ron's pants hit the floor around Ron's feet, leaving Ron in his boxers, Rufus crawled out of his pocket sleepily, and asked, "Huh?"

The glow in the Guardian's eyes cut out, and it fell to the floor, the lasers carving it up into rubble as it fell through them.

Ron pressed the off button, then quickly scooped up Rufus. "Are you alright little buddy?" The mole-rat nodded, and snuggled into his hands.

Meanwhile, the sound of the Stone Guardian of Setsuma falling to pieces hadn't distracted Killagain and Monkey fist from their fight, but the silence that followed did.

The two bruised and battered villains looked up to see Kim Possible and Shego advancing on them menacingly (and a pants-less Ron Stopable following the two reluctantly).

"Uh-oh..." all three villains intoned.

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_The Present, Tuesday:_

"Make room and hand over the remote, little sis!" Jim said. Tim added, "Yeah, you got to sit around and watch TV all day; now it's our turn to use the tube!"

Kimberly moved over to make room, but then crossed her arms. "I'll have you know I have plenty of other things to do with my day than just watch television!"

"Such as?"

"Practicing my martial arts, reading the textbooks from the classes I want to join this year so I don't fall behind, personalize my room, and doing chores to help out Mom and Dad."

"What, you mean you haven't snooped around Kim's room yet?" Tim said incredulously.

"Er..."

Jim added, "I mean, you've got to be curious about the differences and similarities between the two of you."

"Well, I am curious, but I couldn't invade her privacy like that..."

"How much?"

"Huh?"

"What do you want in exchange for what you've found out?"

"I told you I haven't looked into her stuff!"

Jim and Tim said together, "Riigghhtt, sure you haven't."

"Look, do you want to watch TV, Tweebs, or what?"

Jim said, "If you insist." Tim added, "But if you really haven't yet, you should do it soon, before Kim thinks to threaten you like she did us."

Mrs. Possible stepped into the room. "I'm afraid Kimberly isn't going to have much time for sibling espionage. I just got word back from the school today. Kimberly's been accepted into Middleton High! She starts next Monday."

Kimberly said happily, "Yes!"

Jim and Tim rolled their eyes. "It figures," Tim said. Jim finished, "our little sister's more of a prodigy than us!"

Mrs. Possible said, "Don't complain. You know you could skip a few grades if you would put more effort into English and Social Studies."

The twins looked at each other. Tim asked Jim, "Maybe we should put that extra effort in so we can keep our sisters company all day. What do you think?"

"Hicka bicka boo!" Together they said, "Poo-sha!", jumped off the couch, and ran up the stairs.

Kimberly slapped her forehead. "Just great."

Mrs. Possible smiled, "Don't worry, even for them raising their grades enough to transfer to Middelton High will take months. And seeing as this seems to be something they came up with on a whim, I doubt they'll be able to keep it up long enough – though I must admit I wouldn't be disappointed if they did manage it..."

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_The Past:_

Drakken turned to Monkey Fist. "Quick! The Tempus Simia!"

Monkey Fist started to reach into his shirt, but Shego cried, "Oh no you don't!" and threw a ball of plasma at him, forcing him to dodge. Shego ran at him and began to trade blows with him.

Meanwhile Kim walked towards Killagain. She might have been intimidated by his muscles, if it weren't for her martial arts training and the fact that he was currently disheveled and bruised from his fight with Monkey Fist. "Just give it up, Skirt-Boy. I beat you in the future, and I even beat all three of you at once back in Pre-K. You don't stand a chance."

"Ach! We'll see about that, lassie!" Being in too close quarters for using his golf-balls, he instead swung his club at Kim. However, just as with Monkey Fist, Kim was easily able to dodge, thanks to her gymnastic skills.

Ron walked over to Drakken. "So, you're a super villain... and according to Shego, Kim and I are going to be non-super-powered crime fighters... So I guess I've gotta try and capture you, huh?"

Drakken smirked. "That's what you think! I've almost beaten you before, when you were older. So I actually stand a pretty good chance of beating you now!" Drakken lunged at Ron, his hand raised to deliver a mighty slap. However, Ron stepped to the side, grabbed Drakken, and used Drakken's momentum to send him flying.

Drakken landed hard over a yard away. As he got his feet, he whined, "No one told me he knew martial arts!"

While continuing to fight Shego, Monkey Fist rolled his eyes. "I don't know about this time period, but in our own he was a Master of Tai Shing Pe Kwar, much as myself!"

Ron blinked. "A master of what?"

Shego explained, "Monkey Kung-Fu."

Ron shuddered. "Eew! Why would I want to learn that?!"

Drakken approached Ron cautiously, hoping that if he didn't go rushing in, he'd fare better. However, Ron charged him this time. Drakken was punched several times in the face and chest; then before he knew what was going on he found himself on the floor, with Ron on top of him holding Drakken's arms behind his back painfully.

"Give up?" Ron asked.

"Fine, fine!"

"Boo-ya! You know, after sparring with Kim and Shego, I thought my skills were pretty lame – but compared to a non-fighter like you, my skills are awesome!"

Meanwhile, Killagain continued to swing at Kim, while Kim dodged around the swings as best she could and darted in when there was an opening to punch or kick him. He was now sporting several new injuries, and was starting to waver on his feet, but he had gotten a few blows in too; one blow to her right forearm still hurt and was likely going to leave a nasty bruise, while a glancing blow to her head had given her a headache and might have taken her out of the fight if it had hit at a different angle. (It was a golf-club designed for use in battle, after all.)

Shego and Monkey Fist were trading punches and kicks; Monkey fist was also occasionally pulling out knives and shuriken to use against Shego, while Shego was also using her plasma in both short-range and long-range capacities.

"As a master of Tai Shing Pe Kwar my skills in the martial arts are far superior to yours; I also possess the Mystical Monkey Power," Monkey Fist taunted Shego as he leaped away from a swipe of Shego's claws. "You have no hope of beating me!"

Shego took a moment to wipe some blood away from the corner of her mouth and assess the situation. She knew she had some cuts from Monkey Fist's knives, as well as a few future bruises. Meanwhile, Monkey Fist was disheveled and he and his gi bore cuts and burn marks from her own attacks. Thus far the battle had been pretty much even.

"My martial arts may not be as exotic as yours, but they get the job done just the same. And in case you didn't notice, I have some powers of my own." She lit up her her hand for emphasis.

"I suppose I'll just have to prove my superiority then, by beating you to a pulp!" Monkey Fist launched himself at her again, and Shego met him halfway with her blazing fist.

Meanwhile, Kim had managed to wrestle Killagain's golf-club away from him, and brought the fight to a conclusion by applying it to his head in a similar manner to how he had attempted to apply it to hers.

"Man, I wish I had brought some rope," Kim said. "It would be nice to have him restrained if he wakes up before the Police get here." Deciding to improvise, she pulled off his shirt and used it to tie his arms.

She turned and saw Ron on the floor, still keeping Drakken from running. "Eew!" she said, quickly turning away. "Just use his shirt to tie his arms, like I did, Ron! Seeing you lying there on top of him like that without any pants is... well, to borrow one of your phrases, 'sick and wrong'!"

"Huh?" Ron asked cluelessly; he looked down at himself and Drakken; after a moment it struck him and he jumped up away from Drakken. "Eww! Eww! Eww!"

Shaking her head, Kim turned her attention to the battle between Shego and Monkey Fist. She wanted to believe Shego would win, but the battle looked rather even. More frightening was the fact that Monkey Fist was using real weapons, and both were fighting with the intent to cause serious injury, maybe even death.

Kim frowned, and tested the weight of Killagain's club, still in her hand.

Shego came at Monkey Fist with the claws on both hands. Monkey Fist grabbed her hands with his own, and tried to get in the proper position to deliver a kick. Before he could, Shego inflamed her hands, forcing him to activate the glow of his Monkey Powers to protect his hands. Shego pushed with her hands, trying to get at him with her claws, but he resisted, and kneed her in the stomach. This knocked the wind out of her, causing her to loose the strength to her attack. Monkey Fist let her go, backed up, and delivered a kick to the same spot on her stomach, sending her to the floor.

The wind still knocked out of her, Shego forced herself to her knees, and tried to get to her feet. Meanwhile, Monkey Fist walked towards her, smiling cruelly at her weakness. ...Then a titanium driver hit him in the head, sending him into darkness.

Shego looked up at Kim, who was standing there holding the club and grinning.

Shego's smile said "Thanks," but the words that came weakly from her mouth were, "I could have beaten him on my own."

Kim shrugged. "I was getting bored waiting for you to finish with him," she said, though her expression answered Shego's with a "Your welcome."

Shego made her way over to Monkey Fist, reached into his gi, and pulled out a stone idol of a Monkey. "And here's the cause of all this trouble..."

Kim eyed the idol. "So that's the Tempus Simia, huh?"

"The same."

Ron came over to look at it, then quickly backed away. "You didn't say it looked like a monkey!"

Shego gave a sly smile and shrugged. "You didn't ask."

Ron scowled at her.

Kim asked, "So... what are you going to do with it...?" Kim tried not to let the fear and uncertainty she felt over the prospect of Shego leaving for what Shego considered "the present" come out in her voice; but she didn't quite succeed.

Her voice far more casual than Kim's, but masking equal uncertainty, Shego shrugged again and said, "I haven't decided yet."

Ron spoke up. "By the way, while I was tying up the blue guy, I found this. This must be that Juvinator thing?" He held up a device made of a white rod surrounded by colored rings.

Shego breathed in sharply. "Be careful with that thing. You could turn yourself into a toddler if you hit the wrong button."

Ron looked offended. "Of course I'm being careful with it. I'm always careful!"

Shego shook her head. "Look, just leave it with Doctor D, and let the police figure out what to do with it."

Kim looked surprised. "You haven't decided yet what you're going to do with the monkey idol, but you already know you're not going to use the Juvenator?"

Shego paused for a moment, then shrugged."I've gotten used to being a kid. Plus, Little Boy Blue's devices have a bad habit of not working as advertised; I'm not sure I trust it to transform me back right, especially seeing as how I've aged seven years since I was first transformed. ...Besides, I can always steal it back if I change my mind."

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_The Present (Thursday Afternoon):_

"What will it take for me to get back to my old skill?" Kimberly exclaimed in frustration from under Shego's foot.

"Don't sweat it too much, Princess. You actually held out surprisingly long considering I've had twelve years to not only recover my skills but expand on them, and you've only had your new body for a week or so."

Kim, who had been watching, nodded as Shego helped Kimberly up. "In fact, I think you're good enough now that if you want to go on missions with us, you could."

Kimberly's eyes widened. "Me, go on missions with you guys...?"

Shego shrugged. "Sure, why not. We already put up with Ron; another deadweight won't make much of a difference."

Kim put her hands on her hips. "Ron is not deadweight!"

Shego considered this. "I suppose you're right. Someone needs to carry Rufus around, after all."

Kim rubbed her forehead. "That's not what I meant."

Kimberly said, "Look, I'm honored you think I'm ready, and getting back into the world-saving business does sound good... It's just, I'm not sure what to think of doing it for money..."

Shego replied, "Hey, don't knock it until you've tried it."

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_The Past:_

Mr. Paisley told the Police, "Officers, take them away!"

As they were herded to the van, Monkey Fist complained, "But, you can't leave us here in the past!"

Killagain agreed, "Aye, we'll face years of deja vu!"

Drakken added, "It will throw the timestream into chaos!"

As he pushed Drakken into the van, one of the officers muttered, "Mmm... yeah, like I haven't heard that one before."

Nearby, Mr. Paisley had turned his attention to Kim, Ron, and Shego. "I'm really grateful to you three for stopping those hoodlums – who knows what they might have done if you weren't there?"

Ron blinked. "But they were--"

Shego elbowed him. "Don't interrupt."

Mr. Paisley continued, "I'm especially thankful to you, Miss Possible, for rescuing me." He frowned, and said quietly, "So how much do I owe you?"

Kim looked surprised, and said, "You don't-- mmph!" Shego covered Kim's mouth with her palm.

Shego thought quickly, then answered, "Five hundred each for the three 'hoodlums', another five for Kimmie's laser dance, and a thousand for the giant stone monkey."

Shego removed her hand from Kim's mouth while Ron and Mr. Paisley tried to calculate Shego's prices out in their heads.

Kim said quietly, so only Shego could hear. "I would have done it for free."

Shego asked equally quietly, "Would you have babysat for free?"

"No. But that's different, no one's life is on the line when I babysit."

Ron finished calculating, and his eyes widened in shock.

Continuing the quiet conversation, Shego pointed out to Kim, "In case you've forgotten, your life was on the line – and you deserve to get something back for taking that risk."

Kim had to concede that point. "But still... Three thousand dollars?! Isn't that a bit much?"

"He's rich. He can afford it."

Mr. Paisley spoke up. "While I admit your services were quite impressive, not to mention necessary, my funds are a bit low thanks to having just put in that laser defense system... and I'm going to need to devote some funds to repairing that wall... How about fifteen hundred and each of you gets to pick out a Cuddlebuddy – other than Flamingoat of course."

Kim glanced at Shego, and whispered, "You said he could afford it."

Shego pulled out a nail file and began filing her nails. To Kim, she whispered, "He can; he's just being stingy." To Paisley, she said, "Ron and I aren't Cuddlebuddies fans..."

Paisley offered, "Two thousand, two hundred fifty, and Miss Possible gets to pick out a Cuddlebuddy other than Flamingoat?"

Shego glanced at Kim, and raised an eyebrow.

Kim turned to Mr. Paisley and nodded. "Deal."

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_The Present (Friday Afternoon):_

Kimberly looked around Kim's room nervously. She was home alone again, and it would be several hours before Kim and the Tweebs got home from school. So long as she didn't disturb anything and left before they got home, no one would need to know she had even been in here.

To tell the truth, she wasn't quite sure why she was in here. Her curiosity about her counterpart was certainly a factor... And the Tweebs had practically dared her to snoop around in the room (not that she intended to reveal to them anything she found). There was also the fact that this was her last chance to snoop around in Kim's room – over the weekend there would always be some else home, and come Monday she'd be starting school.

She started by just walking around the room, looking at everything. She'd seen most of it that first night and morning, when she'd slept in the room, but there were details she'd missed. ...For instance, Pandaroo wasn't the only Cuddlebuddy on Kim's bed.

"_A Owligator?! How the heck did she get one of those?!" _Owligators were among the more rare of Cuddlebuddies; Kimberly had never seen one in the stores, and they were known to go for several hundred dollars at auction...

Kimberly felt a pang of jealousy looking at this Cuddlebuddy._ "Was she just in the right place at the right time? Did she buy it with the money she makes on missions? ...She better not have stolen it..._"

Kimberly crossed her arms and frowned. _"It's bad enough she's stolen my life, now she has stuff I would have liked to have but never did!" _Kimberly's eyes widened at this mental slip-of-the-tongue. _"Stolen my life? Is that how I think of her?_" In some ways it was true - Kim had taken the place she was familiar with in school, in the world-saving business, in her friendship with Ron, and in her family. However, Kimberly knew in her head that Kim wasn't at fault in this, and that Kim had as much if not more right to those places than Kimberly; there also wasn't any reason she couldn't build new places for herself. She hadn't realized until now that her heart wasn't listening to the wisdom of her mind.

Even before meeting Kim, Kimberly had been annoyed by many of Kim's choices in life - stealing, taking money for good deeds, trusting Shego; and the list just grew after meeting her. Kim's attitude also grated on Kimberly. Kimberly had assumed these facts were why she resented Kim so much; now Kimberly realized there was another level to it. But how could she convince her heart it was wrong, that Kim wasn't at fault for taking Kimberly's place?

_"I could always just focus all the blame on Shego.... She was the one who changed history." _This was familiar territory; she had mentally raged at Shego many times since arriving in this timeline. However, now that she thought about it, blaming Shego was just as illogical as blaming Kim. Shego had been trapped in the past and had done what she needed to survive; considering her knowledge of the future and her disposition (not to mention eventually getting her hands on the Tempus Simia), Shego had really behaved herself. (On the other hand, Shego **could** be blamed for being a bad influence on Kim...)

_"Well, at least I can blame Monkey Fist, Killagain, and Drakken for coming up with the crazy time-travel plot and for leaving Shego behind in the past... Although, now that I think of it, I could have let them go, gotten Shego myself, and let Rufus 3000 track the others... Okay, well, I can still blame them for coming up with the scheme... and Drakken for juvenating me._" Kim's eyes narrowed. Not having a place in the timeline hurt a lot, but she was starting to realize that the main fault there lie belonged not to any person, but to temporal mechanics. On the other hand, her juvenation was completely the fault of her version of Dr. Drakken. _"Oooh! When I see you next time, you're really going to get it!"_

Forgetting entirely about her tentative plan of snooping around Kim's room, Kimberly headed downstairs and outside to vent her anger with some martial arts practice.

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_The Past:_

Shego sat on her bed, contemplating the stone monkey idol in front of her. With it, she could return to the present – except she knew that with the changes she'd made, the world and life she'd left behind wasn't there anymore.

Undoing the changes in history she'd made wouldn't be that hard – all she had to do was go back in time and "rescue" her past self right after she'd been abandoned... However, they'd need to retrieve the Juvinator, and one of them would need to risk using it if either of them wanted to resume her place in what they used to think of as the "present".

The risk of using the Juvinator wasn't what made Shego hesitate to go through with this plan, though. Rather, it was the fact that it would mean leaving behind the Kim and Ron she knew, and returning to a world where they were her enemies. Although the pre-time-travel Shego would have been shocked by it, Kim and Ron had become very close friends to her, friends she couldn't bear the thought of abandoning. ...As if this wasn't enough to dissuade her from restoring the old timeline, there was also the fact that to fully restore the timeline Clarice and Andrew Gonzales would have to be allowed to be killed by the rainbow comet...

Of course, there were other options as to what she could do with the Tempus Simia.

She could get rich by putting money in a bank in the past and letting interest accumulate over decades, or by using knowledge of the future to play the stock market. The fact that this would be considered "cheating" by many didn't bother her in the least – after all, the thrill of breaking the rules was one of the things that had attracted her to thievery in the first place. On the other hand, thievery had lost it's thrill over time, leading to her adding "hired muscle" to her resume; she suspected "making money through time-travel" would eventually loose its' thrill too. ...Besides, she would be limited in the types of transactions she could make and what she could do with her money until she was out of foster care (or unless she used the Juvenator to become adult)...

If Shego had gotten her hands on the Tempus Simia back when she had been working for Drakken, she might have considered using it to put herself in a position to conquer the world. Certainly it would go well with the "making money through time-travel" scheme. However, having spent seven years without the company of megalomaniacs, she could no longer remember why conquering the world ever sounded like a good idea. Once she had it, what would she do with it?!

On the other side of the spectrum, if the Kim from the old timeline had the Time Monkey she would probably use it to learn about tragedies and catastrophes, and go back in time to prevent or lessen them. In a way, this was what Shego had done when she prevented her parents from being killed by the comet. However, even if Shego was selfless enough to go out of her way to rescue strangers when there was no profit involved for her (and she wasn't that selfless), countless tragedies happened every day across the world, had been happening since the dawn of time, and would continue to happen as long as there were people for them to happen to. There was no way a single person could right every single wrong that ever had or would occur, even using time-travel, and that being the case how would one decide which ones were worth correcting?

In the end, Shego decided it all boiled down to the fact that while things were far from perfect, she was happy with her life, something she hadn't been able to say for many years, and those problems she did have (such as meddling foster parents) couldn't be solved by time travel without causing even more problems. So she wouldn't be using the Tempus Simia any time soon, if ever.

This left her with the question of what to do with it. She couldn't just store it in her room, or donate it to some museum. (And she definitely couldn't sell it!) It was too dangerous to allow to fall into anyone else's hands. Not only were there many out there who would seek to use the Tempus Simia for evil should they know of its' powers (herself once having been one of them), but even if someone with good intentions were to use it, they risked undoing what Shego had created.

Nodding to herself, Shego used her claws to pluck out the idol's gemstone eyes. She then went over to her closet, removed several boxes, and pried up a loose floorboard. Reaching into the hole, she pulled out a four-by-four-by-eight-inch metal box. She picked the lock (the box had no key) and opened the box to reveal several gems and pieces of jewelry she had stolen in this "lifetime". She deposited the eyes of the Simia in the box, satisfied that while she would be able to tell them from the other gems, no one who hadn't seen the Time Monkey would know they were any more valuable than anything else in the box. She closed the box back up, locked it, and placed it back under the floorboards. She closed the floor back up, then put the rest of the contents of her closet back in place, except for an old, beat up backpack.

Shego put the eye-less Tempus Simia in the backpack, then headed down to her foster parents' garage. Grabbing a shovel, she then headed out for a "walk".

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_The Present (Friday Evening):_

In an underground bunker outside of Middleton, two figures waited at a table in a small room. The walls and door of the room were high-tech, with strategically placed keypads & screens. The table and chairs were designed to fit this decor.

On one side of the table and requiring a chair big enough to monopolize two spots was what appeared to be a man - however, few men ever grew to his height, or attained muscles as bulky as his. Those bulging muscles seemed to cover every inch of his body, and the veins that could be seen running over them seemed to wriggle and squirm whenever he moved. He wore red pants and black boots , and the only hair on his body was a short beard..

Across from the huge man sat someone who looked like an older version of Monkey Fist - the top of his head was bald, his skin had some wrinkles, and his hair and fur was mostly gray with some traces of white.

The door swished open mechanically, and a figure in a dark blue trench/lab-coat walked in. His eyes were yellow and slitted, while his skin was covered in blue scales.

"Monkey Fist" sneered. "So, you're finally here. I find it ironic that you should be the last to arrive when you were the one who called this meeting."

The muscle-man nodded. "Aye. So what did ye want to discuss?"

The blue lizard-man smiled, revealing pointy teeth. "The time has come to begin the final stage of our plan..."

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Next: Firsts... and Lasts

Author's Note: We're nearing the finish line; I predict one, maybe two chapters more.

The inspiration being so close to done gives me might just be enough to get the next chapter out in a few weeks. However, given the fact that I still need to refine the plot for the next chapter, and that I was thinking of getting in new chapters to a few other fics, a few months is a more realistic timeframe.

...I'll try not go years between updates again if I can help it.


End file.
